16,105 Shares in Linde PLC $LIN Acquired by North Dakota State Investment Board

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board opened a new position in Linde PLC, buying 16,105 shares worth about $6.87 million in the fourth quarter.
• Linde reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings, with EPS of $4.33 and revenue of $8.78 billion, both topping analyst estimates and rising 8.2% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, while analysts remain broadly positive with an average Buy rating and a $540 price target.

North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 16,105 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $6,867,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its stake in Linde by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 3,503 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Guardian Capital LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $296,000. May Hill Capital LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 1,288 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the period. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Linde by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,616 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $13,481,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. Finally, Noesis Capital Mangement Corp boosted its stake in Linde by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp now owns 32,510 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $13,862,000 after purchasing an additional 2,006 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

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Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $506.11 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $497.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $459.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.73. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $387.78 and a 12-month high of $521.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.95 EPS. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total value of $2,094,802.03. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total transaction of $3,111,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $560.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $540.00.

About Linde

Linde NASDAQ: LIN is a multinational industrial gases and engineering company that supplies gases, related technologies and services to a wide range of industries. The company traces its current form to the 2018 combination of Germany's Linde AG and U.S.-based Praxair, creating one of the largest global providers of industrial, specialty and medical gases. Linde's business model centers on production, processing and distribution of gases as well as the design and construction of the plants and equipment needed to produce them.

Core products and services include atmospheric and process gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon; hydrogen and helium; carbon dioxide; and a portfolio of higher‑value specialty and electronic gases.

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