Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Increases Stock Holdings in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Baker Avenue Asset Management increased its Linde stake by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 2,653 additional shares and bringing its total to 44,186 shares worth about $18.8 million.
• Linde reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.33 versus estimates of $4.27 and revenue of $8.78 billion, up 8.2% year over year. The company also issued FY 2026 guidance of $17.60 to $17.90 EPS.
• Wall Street remains bullish on Linde, with analysts maintaining a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $540. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, yielding about 1.3% annually.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,186 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 2,653 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in Linde were worth $18,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,752,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Linde by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 897 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 5,625 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,639,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of LIN opened at $507.87 on Thursday. 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 $234.81 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $500.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $464.50. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.95 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. DZ Bank lowered Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Seaport Research Partners raised their price objective on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Linde from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $540.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the firm's 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. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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