Global Retirement Partners LLC Increases Position in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Linde by 155.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 6,391 shares valued at about $2.7 million.
• Linde reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.33 beating estimates and revenue of $8.78 billion topping forecasts, while also raising FY 2026 guidance.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, and analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $540.

Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 155.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,391 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,886 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $2,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LIN. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 10,454.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,424,869 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,033,940,000 after acquiring an additional 2,401,894 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth about $453,274,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth about $260,822,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Linde by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,124,882 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $910,129,000 after acquiring an additional 544,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth about $206,747,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $517.58 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $499.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $462.12. 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 company has a market cap of $239.30 billion, a PE ratio of 34.37, a PEG 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.

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 previous year, the company 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 predict that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total transaction of $2,094,802.03. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,643,729.02. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 transaction of $3,111,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. DZ Bank lowered Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $560.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $530.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho set a $525.00 price objective on Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $540.00.

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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