Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Buys 27,940 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Dana Investment Advisors sharply increased its stake in Linde during the fourth quarter, buying 27,940 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 29,760 shares worth about $12.7 million.
• Linde continues to draw mostly bullish analyst coverage, with several firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a consensus Buy rating and average target of $540.
• The company reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also announced a $1.60 quarterly dividend to be paid on June 18, implying a 1.3% yield.

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 1,535.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,760 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,940 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $12,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Linde from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. DZ Bank downgraded Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $540.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total transaction of $4,542,654.75. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. This represents a 29.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $506.11 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $497.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $459.41. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $521.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $234.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.73.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The firm had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.95 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

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

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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