Employees Retirement System of Texas Increases Stock Position in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Employees Retirement System of Texas increased its Linde stake by 38.5% in the fourth quarter, adding 6,691 shares to reach 24,091 shares valued at about $10.27 million.
• Several analysts remain bullish on Linde, with recent price targets ranging from $525 to $579 and a consensus rating of “Buy” and average target of $540.
• Linde reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, posting EPS of $4.33 on revenue of $8.78 billion, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share.

Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 38.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,091 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 6,691 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Linde were worth $10,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Saranac Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its position in Linde by 134.5% in the 4th quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on LIN. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $560.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Mizuho set a $525.00 target price on Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Linde currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $540.00.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total transaction of $3,111,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, 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 this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total value of $2,094,802.03. Following the sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Linde Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $514.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $238.10 billion, a PE ratio of 34.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $521.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $500.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $463.85.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $8.78 billion during 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 business's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.50%.

Linde 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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