Davidson Investment Advisors Purchases 3,240 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Davidson Investment Advisors increased its stake in Linde by 16.4%, buying 3,240 shares to hold 23,025 shares worth about $9.82 million per its latest SEC filing.
• Linde slightly beat Q4 estimates with EPS $4.20 vs. $4.18 and revenue $8.76B vs. $8.64B, reported 6.3% YoY revenue growth, and set Q1 2026 guidance of 4.200–4.300 EPS and FY2026 guidance of 17.400–17.900 EPS.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.60 ($6.40 annualized, ~1.3% yield), and analysts remain positive with an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $521.60 after several upgrades.

Davidson Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 23,025 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 3,240 shares during the period. Davidson Investment Advisors' holdings in Linde were worth $9,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Linde by 0.9% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Linde by 0.9% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,329,728 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,431,639,000 after buying an additional 83,236 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Linde by 6.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,287,566 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,036,594,000 after buying an additional 242,733 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Linde by 4.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,895,026 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,850,137,000 after buying an additional 176,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Linde by 7.8% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,828,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,343,564,000 after buying an additional 204,636 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $492.23 on Monday. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $387.78 and a 12-month high of $510.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.10 billion, a PE ratio of 33.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $491.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $453.51.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.97 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Linde from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Linde from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $455.00 to $525.00 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $545.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Seaport Research Partners upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $521.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,636,202.10. This trade represents a 29.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.