Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations Buys 3,000 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations boosted its stake in Linde by 3,000 shares to 738,746 shares, making Linde 7.2% of its portfolio and representing about 0.16% of Linde worth roughly $315 million; Linde is its third-largest holding.
• Linde beat Q1 expectations (adjusted EPS $4.33 vs. $4.27; revenue $8.78B, up ~8% YoY) and raised its dividend, but set FY‑2026 guidance at $17.60–$17.90, with the midpoint slightly below Street consensus.
• Insiders sold about 20,332 shares (~$9.75M) over the last quarter, institutional ownership is ~82.8%, and analysts hold a consensus Buy rating with a target near $527.80.

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations boosted its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 738,746 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises 7.2% of Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations' investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations owned 0.16% of Linde worth $314,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC grew its position in Linde by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 27,341 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $11,658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,234 shares during the last quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 236,206 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $112,198,000 after purchasing an additional 73,850 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,243,000. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Linde by 2.6% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 967,516 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $459,570,000 after acquiring an additional 24,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in shares of Linde by 143.4% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 15,044 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,415,000 after acquiring an additional 8,863 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Linde

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results topped expectations — adjusted EPS $4.33 vs. $4.27 consensus and revenue $8.78B (up ~8% YoY); management cited pricing and project start‑ups as growth drivers. Business Wire: Linde Reports First-Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company raised its dividend alongside the quarter, a shareholder‑friendly move that supports income and signals confidence in cash flow. Zacks: Linde Q1 Earnings Beat, Dividend Raised
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability remains strong — net margin (~20.3%) and ROE (~19.5%) indicate healthy cash conversion and operational leverage that support valuations. MarketBeat: Linde Q1 Summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 guidance given at $4.40–$4.50 is essentially in line with the Street (consensus ~4.45), so near‑term guidance doesn’t materially surprise investors either way. Seeking Alpha: Q1 Results Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Management hosted an earnings call and published the slide deck/transcript — useful for assessing segment dynamics (industrial gases, projects) but no new strategic shifts announced. Seeking Alpha: Q1 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: FY 2026 guidance set to $17.60–$17.90 has a midpoint slightly below the current consensus (~17.83), which could be viewed as a modest disappointment if investors expected an upward revision. Zacks: What Key Metrics Say

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value 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 approximately $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total value of $4,542,654.75. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. This trade represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Linde from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. DZ Bank lowered Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Linde from $512.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $527.80.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $507.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.81, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $496.93 and a 200-day moving average of $456.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $521.28.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.60 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.Linde's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.95 EPS. 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, sell-side analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.87%.

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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