Linde PLC $LIN Shares Bought by Capital International Investors

Key Points

• Capital International Investors increased its Linde stake by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 1.28 million more shares and bringing its holdings to about 1.63% of the company valued at roughly $3.25 billion.
• Linde reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings of $4.33 per share on revenue of $8.78 billion, and management raised guidance for FY 2026 and Q2 2026.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, while analysts remain broadly bullish with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $541.91.

Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,610,387 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,275,477 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned about 1.63% of Linde worth $3,245,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Linde by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 27,341 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $11,658,000 after buying an additional 2,234 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,243,000. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its position in shares of Linde by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 236,206 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $112,198,000 after buying an additional 73,850 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in Linde by 143.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 15,044 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,415,000 after purchasing an additional 8,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Linde by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 238,878 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $113,467,000 after purchasing an additional 11,472 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $507.90 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $503.06 and its 200-day moving average is $468.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $387.78 and a 12-month high of $521.28.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.78 billion for 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on LIN shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Linde from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. DZ Bank cut shares of Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $541.91.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related 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 directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Linde Company 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.

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