Linde PLC $LIN Shares Sold by Grandfield & Dodd LLC

Key Points

• Grandfield & Dodd LLC trimmed its Linde stake by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,194 shares and leaving it with 107,299 shares worth about $45.8 million. Linde remains the fund’s 10th-largest position.
• Linde reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.33 versus the $4.27 estimate and revenue of $8.78 billion, up 8.2% year over year. The company also issued FY 2026 EPS guidance of $17.60 to $17.90.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with several firms raising price targets and MarketBeat showing an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $540.00. Shares were down 0.9% to $497.69 in the latest session.

Grandfield & Dodd LLC reduced its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 107,299 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,194 shares during the period. Linde accounts for about 2.6% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Grandfield & Dodd LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $45,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its stake in Linde by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 6,359 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,711,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its stake in Linde by 961.0% in the 4th quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 95,228 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,604,000 after acquiring an additional 86,253 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC grew its stake in Linde by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 934 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Linde by 182.1% in the 4th quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 268 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Welch & Forbes LLC grew its stake in Linde by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 104,570 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $44,587,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $497.69 on Friday. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $521.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $501.29 and a 200-day moving average of $465.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.11 billion, a PE ratio of 33.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.95 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue 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, analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total transaction of $2,094,802.03. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, 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. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho set a $525.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Seaport Research Partners lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Linde currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $540.00.

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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