Rep. Kevin Hern Unloads Shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)

Key Points

• Rep. Kevin Hern sold Linde shares valued between $15,001 and $50,000 on September 17 through the HERN FAMILY REVOCABLE TRUST. He also recently reported sales of shares in several other companies, including NextEra Energy, Lockheed Martin, Devon Energy, and UnitedHealth.
• Linde reported quarterly EPS of $4.50 and revenue of $9.29 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue increased 9.3% year over year. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $17.70 to $17.90.
• LIN trades at $492.70 with a consensus analyst rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $547.29. Linde also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, representing a 1.3% annualized yield.

Representative Kevin Hern (Republican-Oklahoma) recently sold shares of Linde PLC NASDAQ: LIN. In a filing disclosed on October 13th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $15,001 and $50,000 in Linde stock on September 17th. The trade occurred in the Representative's "HERN FAMILY REVOCABLE TRUST" account.

Representative Kevin Hern also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of NextEra Energy NYSE: NEE on 10/2/2026.
• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Lockheed Martin NYSE: LMT on 9/23/2026.
• Sold $50,001 - $100,000 in shares of Devon Energy NYSE: DVN on 9/23/2026.
• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Devon Energy NYSE: DVN on 9/23/2026.
• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Starbucks NASDAQ: SBUX on 9/23/2026.
• Sold $50,001 - $100,000 in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies NYSE: MRSH on 9/23/2026.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Home Depot NYSE: HD on 9/23/2026.
• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of UnitedHealth Group NYSE: UNH on 9/23/2026.
• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Chevron NYSE: CVX on 9/23/2026.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Chubb NYSE: CB on 9/23/2026.

Linde Price Performance

LIN stock opened at $492.70 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $478.29 and a 200-day moving average of $498.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Linde PLC has a 12 month low of $387.78 and a 12 month high of $548.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $227.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.71.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.02 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 20.09% and a net margin of 20.43%. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.09 earnings per share. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-17.900 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Linde by 3.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,344,181 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,558,016,000 after purchasing an additional 719,052 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Linde by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,402,317 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,303,494,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,751 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Linde by 13.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,162,409 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,567,796,000 after purchasing an additional 373,012 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Linde by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,740,541 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,358,712,000 after purchasing an additional 64,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Linde by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,250,532 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $959,605,000 after purchasing an additional 343,161 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LIN. Argus lowered their price objective on Linde from $563.00 to $538.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings raised Linde from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $580.00 target price on Linde and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Evercore boosted their price target on Linde from $515.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Linde from $580.00 to $560.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $547.29.

About Representative Hern

Kevin Hern (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District. He assumed office on November 13, 2018. His current term ends on January 3, 2027. Hern (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Oklahoma's 1st Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election. Kevin Hern went into business as a McDonald's franchisee in 1999. He acquired 10 McDonald's franchises by 2012. He served on the McDonald's National Leadership Team for 13 years, including the tax policy team, the insurance corporation, and as chairman of the economics team. From 2011 to 2015, he was chairman of the finance committee of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.

Linde Company Profile

Linde plc NASDAQ: LIN is a global industrial gases and engineering company that supplies gases, related equipment and process technologies to customers in healthcare, manufacturing, chemicals, energy, food and beverage, electronics, and other industries. Its products include oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases.

The company provides gases through on-site production facilities, pipelines, bulk deliveries and packaged cylinders. It also designs and builds industrial gas plants and offers technologies and services for applications such as hydrogen production, carbon capture, clean energy, semiconductor manufacturing, metal fabrication and medical care.

Linde traces its history to 1879, when German engineer Carl von Linde developed refrigeration and gas-related technologies.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.