California State Teachers Retirement System Acquires 365,156,729 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System sharply increased its Linde stake by acquiring 365.2 million additional shares, bringing its reported ownership to 365.7 million shares. Institutional investors collectively own 82.8% of Linde.
• Linde exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.50 in earnings per share and $9.29 billion in revenue, with revenue up 9.3% year over year. The company maintained fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $17.70–$17.90.
• Linde declared a quarterly dividend of $1.60, equal to a 1.3% annualized yield. Analysts retain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $545.38, above the reported share price of $477.57.

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 67,391.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 365,698,575 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 365,156,729 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 79.33% of Linde worth $189,775,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LIN. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Linde by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,319,583 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,176,828,000 after buying an additional 172,162 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Linde by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,353,011 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,820,533,000 after acquiring an additional 35,945 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Linde by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,127,594 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,318,325,000 after acquiring an additional 797,866 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,784,371 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,171,959,000 after acquiring an additional 695,771 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $3,246,750,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $477.57 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $502.05 and its 200-day moving average is $501.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.15 billion, a PE ratio of 30.85, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.72. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $548.20.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.01. Linde had a return on equity of 20.09% and a net margin of 20.43%.The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.09 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-17.900 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 17.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Linde from $560.00 to $546.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Linde from $600.00 to $580.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Linde from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.38.

Linde Company 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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