Linde PLC $LIN Position Raised by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP increased its Linde stake by 6.2% in the first quarter, buying 33,341 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 570,323 shares worth about $282.7 million.
• Wall Street remains bullish on Linde, with an average analyst rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $548.67. Several firms recently reiterated or initiated positive ratings, including Citigroup, BMO Capital Markets, and Evercore.
• Linde reported solid quarterly results and a dividend, beating EPS and revenue estimates and raising guidance for FY 2026. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, implying an annualized yield of 1.3%.

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 570,323 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,341 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.12% of Linde worth $282,743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth $3,246,750,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in Linde by 42,539.0% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,321,809 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $56,361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318,709 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in Linde by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,610,387 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,245,255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275,477 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Linde by 40.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,941,719 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,680,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Linde by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,402,317 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,303,494,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,751 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LIN has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Linde from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Linde in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $559.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $560.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $548.67.

Linde Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Linde stock opened at $508.67 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $516.04 and its 200-day moving average is $493.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.18 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.83 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 $548.20.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released 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. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The business had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.95 EPS. Linde's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 17.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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