Linde PLC $LIN Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Key Points

• Cerity Partners LLC reduced its Linde stake by 36.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 75,133 shares and leaving it with 130,185 shares valued at about $55.5 million.
• Linde reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, with EPS of $4.33 versus $4.27 expected and revenue of $8.78 billion, up 8.2% year over year. The company also provided FY 2026 guidance of 17.6 to 17.9 EPS.
• The stock was trading near its 52-week high at $515.59, and analysts remain bullish with an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $541.91.

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 36.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 130,185 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 75,133 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $55,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blalock Williams LLC boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Blalock Williams LLC now owns 510 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 237 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 711 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mayport LLC boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Mayport LLC now owns 504 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Up 2.7%

Linde stock opened at $515.59 on Wednesday. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $521.28. 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 50 day moving average price of $503.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $469.71. The company has a market capitalization of $238.38 billion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.72.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The firm had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.95 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. Research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LIN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $560.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $541.91.

Linde 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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