Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Raises Stock Position in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its Linde stake by 230.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 3,615 shares valued at about $1.54 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Linde (NASDAQ: LIN), with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $540, while several firms recently raised their targets.
• Linde reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $4.33 and revenue of $8.78 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share.

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 230.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,615 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,522 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $1,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the second quarter valued at $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in Linde in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Linde in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Saranac Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Linde in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LIN. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. DZ Bank cut shares of Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Seaport Research Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, May 4th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $540.00.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total transaction of $4,542,654.75. Following the transaction, the vice president 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 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Linde Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $511.65 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $496.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $459.08. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $521.28. The firm has a market cap of $236.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.73. 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Linde's payout ratio is presently 42.50%.

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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