Intermede Investment Partners Ltd Acquires 61,110 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Intermede Investment Partners increased its Linde stake by 27.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 61,110 shares to bring its total to 282,714 shares. The position was valued at about $120.5 million and made up roughly 5% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Wall Street sentiment on Linde remains positive, with several firms raising ratings and price targets. The stock currently carries a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $540.
• Linde reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share. The company’s shares were trading near their 52-week high at $517.58.

Intermede Investment Partners Ltd lifted its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 27.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 282,714 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 61,110 shares during the period. Linde makes up approximately 5.0% of Intermede Investment Partners Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Intermede Investment Partners Ltd owned about 0.06% of Linde worth $120,546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LIN. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LIN shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Linde from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $540.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total value of $2,094,802.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total transaction of $3,111,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Linde Price Performance

LIN stock opened at $517.58 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Linde PLC has a 12 month low of $387.78 and a 12 month high of $521.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $499.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $462.47.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.60 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.95 earnings per share. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

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