Arizona State Retirement System Sells 3,768 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its stake in Linde PLC by 2.7%, selling 3,768 shares and leaving it with 133,700 shares worth $57,008,000 at quarter-end.
• Linde beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $4.20 (vs. $4.18) and revenue of $8.76B (up 6.3% y/y), provided FY2026 EPS guidance of 17.40–17.90, and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.60 (annualized $6.40, yield 1.3%).
• Over the past 90 days insiders sold 20,332 shares (~$9.75M) while institutional ownership stands at 82.8%, and analysts hold a consensus "Buy" rating with an average price target of $521.60.

Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 133,700 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,768 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Linde were worth $57,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. YANKCOM Partnership raised its holdings in Linde by 195.2% in 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. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Up 2.7%

NASDAQ LIN opened at $508.06 on Friday. Linde PLC has a twelve month low of $387.78 and a twelve month high of $510.65. The stock has a market cap of $235.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.82, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $494.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $454.57. 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 (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.97 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.81 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 43.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Linde from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. DZ Bank cut Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Linde from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $455.00 to $525.00 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. One investment analyst has 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, Linde has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $521.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,636,202.10. This trade represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company 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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