Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Raises Position in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Crossmark Global Holdings increased its stake in Linde by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 27,653 shares worth about $11.8 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Linde remains positive, with several analysts raising price targets and the stock holding a Buy consensus rating and a $540 average price target.
• Linde posted solid quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share payable June 18.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,653 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,934 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $11,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Blalock Williams LLC raised its stake in Linde by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Blalock Williams LLC now owns 510 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in Linde by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc raised its stake in Linde by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 237 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA raised its stake in Linde by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 711 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mayport LLC raised its stake in Linde by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Mayport LLC now owns 504 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LIN shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho set a $525.00 target price on Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Seaport Research Partners raised their target price on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned 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 price target of $540.00.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $493.16 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $496.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $457.12. The company has a market capitalization of $228.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.83. 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 results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm 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. Research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total transaction of $2,094,802.03. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257 over the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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