FSA Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• FSA Advisors acquired 33,410 shares of Linde (~$14.25M) in Q4, making the stock about 2.5% of its portfolio and its 12th-largest holding.
• Linde beat Q1 estimates with $4.33 EPS and $8.78B revenue (up 8.2% YoY), issued FY2026 guidance of $17.60–$17.90 EPS and Q2 guidance of $4.40–$4.50, and declared a $1.60 quarterly dividend ($6.40 annual, ~1.3% yield).
• Investor positioning is heavily institutional (~82.8% ownership) with major funds increasing stakes and analysts averaging a "Buy" rating with a $527.80 consensus price target, while insiders have sold roughly 20,332 shares in the past 90 days.

FSA Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 33,410 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $14,246,000. Linde makes up approximately 2.5% of FSA Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Linde by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,953,116 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $19,167,559,000 after purchasing an additional 354,800 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Linde by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,319,583 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,176,828,000 after purchasing an additional 172,162 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Linde by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,329,728 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,431,639,000 after purchasing an additional 83,236 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Linde by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,287,566 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,036,594,000 after purchasing an additional 242,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Linde by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,895,026 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,850,137,000 after purchasing an additional 176,650 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

Linde stock opened at $507.92 on Monday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $496.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $456.06. 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 12 month low of $387.78 and a 12 month high of $521.28. The stock has a market cap of $235.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.73.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.95 EPS. Linde's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Linde's payout ratio is presently 43.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total value of $2,094,802.03. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Linde stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Linde

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results topped expectations — adjusted EPS $4.33 vs. $4.27 consensus and revenue $8.78B (up ~8% YoY); management cited pricing and project start‑ups as growth drivers. Business Wire: Linde Reports First-Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company raised its dividend alongside the quarter, a shareholder‑friendly move that supports income and signals confidence in cash flow. Zacks: Linde Q1 Earnings Beat, Dividend Raised
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability remains strong — net margin (~20.3%) and ROE (~19.5%) indicate healthy cash conversion and operational leverage that support valuations. MarketBeat: Linde Q1 Summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 guidance given at $4.40–$4.50 is essentially in line with the Street (consensus ~4.45), so near‑term guidance doesn’t materially surprise investors either way. Seeking Alpha: Q1 Results Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Management hosted an earnings call and published the slide deck/transcript — useful for assessing segment dynamics (industrial gases, projects) but no new strategic shifts announced. Seeking Alpha: Q1 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: FY 2026 guidance set to $17.60–$17.90 has a midpoint slightly below the current consensus (~17.83), which could be viewed as a modest disappointment if investors expected an upward revision. Zacks: What Key Metrics Say

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Linde from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $455.00 to $525.00 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Seaport Research Partners boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Linde from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $527.80.

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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