Linde PLC $LIN is Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda.'s 7th Largest Position

Key Points

• Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda. increased its Linde stake by 188.7% in the fourth quarter, making the stock its 7th largest holding and about 6.0% of its portfolio.
• Wall Street remains constructive on Linde, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $540; several firms recently raised targets, including Citigroup to $585.
• Linde posted solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also announced a $1.60 quarterly dividend, equal to $6.40 annually for a 1.3% yield.

Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda. lifted its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 188.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,870 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,020 shares during the period. Linde accounts for about 6.0% of Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda.'s holdings in Linde were worth $18,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Saranac Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde by 134.5% in the 4th quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LIN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $560.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $530.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Linde from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $540.00.

Linde Stock Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $497.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $230.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.83. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $521.28. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $501.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $465.31.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. Linde's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business 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. Analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid 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 (DPR) is currently 42.50%.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, 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 transaction of $2,094,802.03. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company 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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