Howard Capital Management Inc. Has $6.81 Million Position in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management increased its stake in Linde PLC by 15.7% to 15,976 shares, a position valued at about $6.81 million after buying an additional 2,171 shares in Q4.
• Insiders sold 20,332 shares worth roughly $9.75 million last quarter (including EVP Sean Durbin and VP Guillermo Bichara), while short interest jumped ~27% to ~7.08M shares, raising the risk of downward pressure or volatility.
• Analyst sentiment and shareholder return: UBS raised its price target to $579 with a Buy rating (≈15% upside) and the consensus remains a "Buy" with an average target of $518.10, while Linde increased its quarterly dividend to $1.60 ($6.40 annualized, ≈1.3% yield).

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,976 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 2,171 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $6,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Embree Financial Group raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Embree Financial Group now owns 469 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 237 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 8,571 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,071,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 711 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mayport LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Mayport LLC now owns 504 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $579 and reiterated a Buy rating, implying ~15% upside versus the current share level; this is constructive for longer-term investor sentiment and may support buying interest. Linde Given New $579.00 Price Target at UBS Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Research notes on FY2027 earnings expectations were published (analyst estimates can guide modeling and market expectations but no single clear revision was highlighted in the release). Investors should watch if these notes change consensus versus company guidance. Research Analysts Set Expectations for Linde FY2027 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Several sports outlets ran stories about South African cricketer George Linde joining an IPL team — unrelated to Linde PLC but likely generating noisy search/mention volume that can confuse retail flows. This has no fundamental impact on the industrial gases & engineering business. George Linde set to replace Wanindu Hasaranga at LSG
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~27% in March to ~7.08M shares (≈1.5% of shares outstanding) with a days-to-cover near 2.5 — a meaningful increase in bearish positioning that can add downward pressure or increase volatility if shorts scale or cover quickly. No company-specific catalyst was cited for the rise, so this appears driven by positioning/hedging.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, 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 value of $3,111,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total transaction of $4,542,654.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,636,202.10. This trade represents a 29.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $503.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $233.16 billion, a PE ratio of 34.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.78. Linde PLC has a one year low of $387.78 and a one year high of $510.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company's fifty day moving average price is $487.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $452.93.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.64 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.97 EPS. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a $1.60 dividend. This is a boost from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Linde's payout ratio is 43.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LIN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Linde from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $455.00 to $525.00 in a report on Friday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $518.10.

About Linde

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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