Linde PLC $LIN Holdings Decreased by Natixis Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC cut its Linde stake by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 153,381 shares and ending with 725,794 shares valued at about $309.5 million.
• Insider selling also occurred, with EVP Sean Durbin and VP Guillermo Bichara both reducing their holdings in March through stock sales worth more than $3.1 million and $2.1 million, respectively.
• Analysts remain constructive on Linde, with several firms reiterating buy-equivalent ratings and raising price targets; the stock has an average analyst rating of Buy and a consensus target of $540.

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 725,794 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 153,381 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.16% of Linde worth $309,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth about $2,752,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Linde by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Linde by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Linde by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 897 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in Linde by 3.2% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 5,625 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,639,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $10,643,729.02. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LIN. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $560.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners upped their price objective on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $540.00.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN stock opened at $497.41 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average is $501.45 and its 200-day moving average is $466.12. 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 company has a market cap of $229.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.73. Linde PLC has a twelve month low of $387.78 and a twelve month high of $521.28.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. 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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