Hsbc Holdings PLC Increases Stake in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC significantly boosted its stake in Linde by 162.9% in the first quarter, buying 679,738 more shares and ending with 1.097 million shares worth about $543.95 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Linde remains positive, with multiple analysts reiterating or raising buy ratings and the consensus target price around $548.67.
• Linde reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue expectations, and also maintained a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, which annualizes to a 1.2% yield.

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 162.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,097,110 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 679,738 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.24% of Linde worth $543,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LIN. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 4.3% during the first quarter. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC now owns 511 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Blalock Williams LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Blalock Williams LLC now owns 510 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its position in Linde by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc boosted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA boosted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $559.00 price target on Linde in a research note on Friday. Seaport Research Partners increased their price objective on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $548.67.

Linde Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $513.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $237.29 billion, a PE ratio of 34.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.72. 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 50 day simple moving average of $515.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $491.09. Linde PLC has a 12 month low of $387.78 and a 12 month high of $548.20.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.60 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The company's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.95 EPS. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.50%.

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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