Linde PLC $LIN Holdings Raised by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in Linde PLC by 4.1% in Q4, owning 178,134 shares valued at about $75.96 million.
• Linde beat quarterly expectations with EPS $4.20 (vs. $4.18) and revenue of $8.76 billion (up 6.3% YoY), and set Q1 2026 guidance of 4.200–4.300 EPS and FY2026 guidance of 17.400–17.900 EPS.
• The board raised the quarterly dividend to $1.60 ($6.40 annual, 1.3% yield), and analysts maintain a consensus Buy rating with a $521.60 average price target (Citigroup at $580).

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 178,134 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,060 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Linde were worth $75,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its stake in Linde by 195.2% in the 3rd quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Saranac Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Down 0.7%

LIN opened at $494.84 on Wednesday. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $510.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $493.33 and a 200-day moving average of $453.91. 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 has a market capitalization of $229.30 billion, a PE ratio of 33.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.78.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.The company had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.97 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Linde's payout ratio is currently 43.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho set a $525.00 price objective on Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Erste Group Bank raised Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings raised Linde from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Linde from $545.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $521.60.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. This represents a 29.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the 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 represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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