AMF Tjanstepension AB Buys 6,202 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its Linde stake by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 6,202 shares and bringing its total holding to 896,131 shares worth about $382.1 million.
• Linde reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, with EPS of $4.33 versus the $4.27 consensus and revenue of $8.78 billion, up 8.2% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, while analysts remain upbeat overall, with a consensus rating of “Buy” and a target price of $540.00.

AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 896,131 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,202 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises 2.4% of AMF Tjanstepension AB's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. AMF Tjanstepension AB owned 0.19% of Linde worth $382,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the second quarter worth about $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in Linde in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Linde in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Linde in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Trading Up 0.9%

Linde stock opened at $510.86 on Tuesday. 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 PLC has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $521.28. The company has a market capitalization of $236.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $497.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $459.99.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The firm had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued 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 payout ratio is 42.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Erste Group Bank raised Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho set a $525.00 price target on Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $540.00.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was 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 $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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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