Linde PLC $LIN Position Trimmed by Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Key Points

• Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft trimmed its Linde stake by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 93,226 shares valued at about $39.7 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive overall, with Linde carrying an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of about $540, though DZ Bank recently downgraded the stock to hold.
• Linde reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also raised guidance while declaring a $1.60 quarterly dividend payable June 18.

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,186 shares during the quarter. Linde makes up approximately 2.7% of Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft's holdings in Linde were worth $39,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blalock Williams LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Blalock Williams LLC now owns 510 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc lifted its stake in Linde by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 237 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA lifted its stake in Linde by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 711 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mayport LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Mayport LLC now owns 504 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $560.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $530.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $540.00.

Linde Stock Up 1.9%

LIN stock opened at $513.26 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $237.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.08, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.69 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 $521.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $496.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $458.62.

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

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,643,729.02. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Linde Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LIN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.