Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd Sells 230,030 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Alphinity sold 230,030 shares of Linde in Q4, a 22.9% reduction leaving it with 776,503 shares (about 3.4% of Alphinity’s portfolio) valued at roughly $331.1 million, representing ~0.17% ownership of Linde.
• Linde slightly beat Q4 estimates (EPS $4.20 vs. $4.18) with revenue up 6.3% to $8.76B, provided Q1 2026 guidance of 4.20–4.30 EPS and FY2026 guidance of 17.40–17.90 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.60 ($6.40 annual, 1.3% yield).
• Insiders sold 20,332 shares (~$9.75M) over the past 90 days, yet analysts remain largely positive—consensus rating "Buy" with a $521.60 target and several firms raising price targets (UBS to $579).

Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd lessened its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 776,503 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 230,030 shares during the period. Linde makes up about 3.4% of Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd owned approximately 0.17% of Linde worth $331,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 195.2% during the 3rd quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $494.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.88. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $510.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $493.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $453.91. The stock has a market cap of $229.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.78.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.97 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.8 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the company's 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the company's 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LIN. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Linde from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Seaport Research Partners upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $521.60.

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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