Leonteq Securities AG Takes Position in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Leonteq Securities AG opened a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter, buying 4,381 shares worth about $1.87 million.
• Institutional interest in Linde remains strong, with 82.8% of the stock owned by hedge funds and other institutions, while several firms recently added or expanded their holdings.
• Linde posted better-than-expected Q1 results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also raised guidance; meanwhile, analysts remain mostly bullish with a consensus Buy rating and a $540 price target.

Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,381 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,868,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LIN. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 10,454.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,424,869 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,033,940,000 after purchasing an additional 2,401,894 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $453,274,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $260,822,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Linde by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,124,882 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $910,129,000 after purchasing an additional 544,850 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $206,747,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LIN. DZ Bank cut Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Seaport Research Partners lifted their target price on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Mizuho set a $525.00 target price on Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $540.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total transaction of $2,094,802.03. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $514.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $237.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.16, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $499.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $461.73. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $521.28.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

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