Linde PLC $LIN Shares Purchased by Geode Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management modestly increased its stake in Linde by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 11.35 million shares valued at about $4.82 billion. Institutional ownership of the stock remains high at 82.8%.
• Linde reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.33 versus $4.27 expected and revenue of $8.78 billion versus $8.60 billion expected. The company also raised outlooks, guiding FY2026 EPS to $17.60-$17.90.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, payable on June 18, representing a 1.3% annualized yield. Meanwhile, analysts remain broadly positive, with an average rating of “Buy” and a $540 average price target.

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,353,011 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,945 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.43% of Linde worth $4,820,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Linde by 10,454.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,424,869 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,033,940,000 after acquiring an additional 2,401,894 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at $453,274,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at $260,822,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Linde by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,124,882 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $910,129,000 after acquiring an additional 544,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at $206,747,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LIN. Mizuho set a $525.00 price objective on Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. DZ Bank downgraded Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $540.00.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $507.87 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $500.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $464.50. Linde PLC has a twelve month low of $387.78 and a twelve month high of $521.28. The company has a market capitalization of $234.81 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 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 (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. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The firm had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share 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 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 is Thursday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.50%.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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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