Heritage Investors Management Corp Acquires New Stake in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Heritage Investors Management acquired 17,905 shares of Linde in the third quarter, valued at approximately $8.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.8% of the company.
• Linde’s third-quarter results exceeded expectations, with adjusted EPS of $4.59 and revenue of $9.40 billion, supported by pricing, volume growth, electronics demand and AI-related semiconductor investment.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $550.14, although restructuring costs, uneven industrial demand and fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $4.40–$4.50 present near-term risks.

Heritage Investors Management Corp bought a new position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 17,905 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $8,499,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. lifted its position in Linde by 12.9% in the second quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 175 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Linde by 0.5% during the first quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,159 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,062,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 74.2% during the second quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 54 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Towercrest Capital Management boosted its stake in Linde by 2.8% during the third quarter. Towercrest Capital Management now owns 918 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC increased its position in Linde by 55.6% during the third quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 70 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Berenberg Bank reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Linde from $542.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Argus dropped their price target on shares of Linde from $563.00 to $538.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Linde from $577.00 to $591.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, DZ Bank reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $550.14.

Linde News Summary

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 has a market cap of $237.05 billion, a PE ratio of 34.17, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.71. Linde PLC has a 12 month low of $387.78 and a 12 month high of $548.20. The company's 50-day moving average price is $483.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $492.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be issued a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 3rd. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Linde's payout ratio is presently 42.52%.

About Linde

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.

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