Linde PLC $LIN Shares Newly Acquired by Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Birch Hill Investment Advisors acquired 3,950 Linde shares worth approximately $1.875 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 82.8% of Linde’s outstanding stock.
• Linde reported quarterly revenue of $9.29 billion and EPS of $4.50, slightly exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue increased 9.3% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.60, equivalent to a 1.3% annual yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $547.10 price target, although RBC lowered its target and some commentary suggests the stock may be fully valued at a P/E ratio above 32.

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,950 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,875,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. State Street Corp raised its stake in Linde by 3.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,344,181 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,558,016,000 after buying an additional 719,052 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Linde by 13.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,162,409 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,567,796,000 after purchasing an additional 373,012 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Linde by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,740,541 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,358,712,000 after purchasing an additional 64,078 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Linde by 28.6% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,624,728 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $805,475,000 after buying an additional 361,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 6.6% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,370,361 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $679,370,000 after purchasing an additional 85,360 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays turned bullish on Linde. The firm initiated coverage with an “overweight” rating, adding to recent positive sentiment around Linde’s earnings durability, pricing power and exposure to long-term industrial and technology demand. Barclays initiates coverage of Linde at overweight
• Positive Sentiment: Linde is expanding its carbon-capture business in Sweden. The company plans to build a facility capable of capturing 200,000 tonnes of CO2 annually at a waste-to-energy site, reinforcing its position in industrial decarbonization and potentially expanding its project pipeline. Linde to build 200,000-tonne CO2 capture plant at Swedish waste-to-energy facility
• Positive Sentiment: Linde’s Taiwan affiliate is pursuing hydrogen infrastructure growth. Linde LienHwa is developing hydrogen-as-a-service and refueling solutions, which could create longer-term revenue opportunities as Taiwan increases hydrogen adoption. Linde LienHwa tackles hydrogen transport dilemma with HaaS Interview: Linde LienHwa fuels Taiwan’s hydrogen push
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC remains constructive but lowered its target. Royal Bank of Canada cut its price target from $553 to $549 while retaining an “outperform” rating, suggesting continued confidence but slightly less near-term upside.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is becoming a concern. Commentary that Linde appears fully valued on current earnings could weigh on the stock, particularly given its elevated earnings multiple and the need for continued earnings growth to justify further appreciation. Linde Stock Looks Fully Valued On Current Earnings

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on LIN shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $532.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Linde from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Linde in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $542.00 price objective for the company. DZ Bank restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Linde from $612.00 to $574.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $547.10.

Linde Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $498.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $229.77 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.71. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $548.20. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $478.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $498.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.01. Linde had a return on equity of 20.09% and a net margin of 20.43%. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.09 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-17.900 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.34%.

Linde Company Profile

Linde plc NASDAQ: LIN is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It produces and distributes atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases. The company serves customers through packaged gases, bulk deliveries, on-site production and pipeline systems.

Linde's products and services support a broad range of industries, including healthcare, food and beverage, manufacturing, chemicals, energy, refining, electronics and metals.

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