Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 13,631 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Flputnam Investment Management cut its Linde stake by 60.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 13,631 shares and leaving it with 8,824 shares valued at about $3.76 million.
• Insider selling was also notable: EVP Sean Durbin and VP Guillermo Bichara both sold shares on March 10, reducing their ownership by 44.44% and 16.44%, respectively.
• Linde remains well regarded by analysts, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $540, while the company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and raised its FY 2026 guidance.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. decreased its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 60.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,824 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 13,631 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Linde were worth $3,762,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blalock Williams LLC increased its stake in Linde by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Blalock Williams LLC now owns 510 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in Linde by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc increased its stake in Linde by 10.2% in the second quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 237 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA increased its stake in Linde by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 711 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Mayport LLC increased its stake in Linde by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Mayport LLC now owns 504 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total transaction of $3,111,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the company's 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 in the company, valued at $10,643,729.02. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $530.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Linde from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. DZ Bank cut shares of Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $540.00.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $507.87 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.73. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $387.78 and a 1-year high of $521.28. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $500.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $464.50.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.60 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.95 earnings per share. 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 analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid 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 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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