Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 7,022 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments trimmed its stake in Linde by 12.4%, selling 7,022 shares in Q4 and now holds 49,810 shares valued at about $21.37 million.
• Linde beat earnings estimates (Q: $4.20 EPS vs. $4.18 est.) with revenue up 6.3%, provided FY‑2026 EPS guidance of 17.40–17.90, and recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.60 (annualized $6.40, ~1.3% yield).
• Insider selling and bullish analyst take: insiders sold 20,332 shares (~$9.75M) last quarter (insider ownership 0.70%), while analysts maintain a consensus "Buy" with an average price target of $515.20.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,810 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,022 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $21,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 508 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Linde by 10.2% during the second quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 237 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Embree Financial Group raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 4.9% during the third quarter. Embree Financial Group now owns 469 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in Linde by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 8,571 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,071,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA increased its stake in shares of Linde by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 711 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $502.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $232.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $387.78 and a 12-month high of $510.65. The business's 50 day moving average is $483.36 and its 200-day moving average is $452.12.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.64 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The firm's revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.97 earnings per share. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde's payout ratio is 43.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Linde from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $455.00 to $525.00 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $515.20.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total transaction of $3,111,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total value of $4,542,654.75. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,636,202.10. The trade was a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Linde Profile

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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