Linde PLC $LIN Shares Acquired by National Pension Service

Key Points

• National Pension Service boosted its stake in Linde by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1,198,564 shares worth about $511 million.
• Several analysts remained positive on Linde, with recent price-target increases and an overall Buy consensus rating; the average target is $540.
• Linde reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including EPS of $4.33 on revenue of $8.78 billion, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share.

National Pension Service increased its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 23.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,198,564 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 231,048 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.26% of Linde worth $511,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its position in shares of Linde by 134.5% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Linde in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on LIN shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Seaport Research Partners raised their price target on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Mizuho set a $525.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $540.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of Linde 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Linde Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ LIN opened at $501.98 on Friday. Linde PLC has a one year low of $387.78 and a one year high of $521.28. The company's 50 day moving average price is $501.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $465.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.33, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.73.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.78 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.95 earnings per share. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid 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 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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