Greenleaf Trust Buys New Shares in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Greenleaf Trust acquired 8,682 Linde shares worth approximately $4.1 million in the third quarter, while several other institutional investors also initiated positions. Institutions collectively own 82.8% of Linde’s stock.
• Linde reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter results, with adjusted EPS of $4.59 and revenue of $9.40 billion, up 9.3% year over year. Growth was supported by pricing, volume gains, electronics demand and AI-related semiconductor investment.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with Linde carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $550.14, though a planned $425 million restructuring charge and fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $4.40–$4.50 create near-term uncertainty.

Greenleaf Trust bought a new stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 8,682 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $4,121,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LIN. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,794,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,727,000. Austin Asset Management Co Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $803,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $611,786,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth about $201,880,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Linde

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results exceeded expectations: Adjusted EPS was $4.59, above the $4.52 consensus and up 9% year over year, while sales rose 9.3% to $9.40 billion, topping the $9.16 billion estimate. Linde Reports Third-Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Growth drivers remain intact: Higher pricing, volume growth in the Americas, strong electronics demand and AI-related semiconductor investment supported the quarter. Management also cited a $7.9 billion project backlog, providing visibility into future growth. LIN Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Restructuring and Growth Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their valuation targets: Barclays lifted its target from $577 to $591 and maintained an “overweight” rating, while RBC raised its target from $549 to $568 and upgraded or maintained an “outperform” view. The revisions signal continued confidence in Linde’s earnings durability and growth prospects.
• Neutral Sentiment: Underlying performance was stronger than reported GAAP results: GAAP net income declined 12% because of purchase-accounting effects and restructuring-related items, but adjusted net income increased 7% to $2.12 billion. Linde plc Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Restructuring and near-term uncertainty temper the outlook: Linde expects a $425 million restructuring charge and guided fourth-quarter EPS to $4.40–$4.50. Uneven industrial demand, margin pressure and an evaluation of options for Lincare could limit near-term upside.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $514.24 on Monday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $483.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $492.35. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $548.20. The company has a market capitalization of $237.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $9.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.16 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.34% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.21 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 3rd. Linde's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on LIN. Argus lowered their price objective on Linde from $563.00 to $538.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Linde from $549.00 to $568.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $580.00 price target on shares of Linde and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Linde from $580.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, DZ Bank reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $550.14.

Linde Profile

Linde plc NASDAQ: LIN is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It produces and distributes atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases. The company serves customers through packaged gases, bulk deliveries, on-site production and pipeline systems.

Linde's products and services support a broad range of industries, including healthcare, food and beverage, manufacturing, chemicals, energy, refining, electronics and metals.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LIN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report).

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.