Linde PLC $LIN Shares Bought by Profund Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Profund Advisors LLC increased its Linde stake by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 43,508 shares valued at about $18.6 million.
• Several analysts remain bullish on Linde, with recent buy ratings and price targets ranging as high as $575; the consensus target price is $540.
• Linde reported solid quarterly results, topping EPS and revenue estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share payable on June 18.

Profund Advisors LLC raised its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,508 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,995 shares during the period. Linde accounts for about 0.6% of Profund Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Profund Advisors LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $18,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in Linde in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Linde in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Linde in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was 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 $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the business'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 value of $2,094,802.03. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on LIN shares. Seaport Research Partners lifted their target price on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Linde from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $560.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $540.00.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $510.86 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $497.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $459.99. The company has a market cap of $236.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.73. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The business's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous 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, equities research analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde's payout ratio is currently 42.50%.

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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