Linde PLC $LIN Shares Sold by Jennison Associates LLC

Key Points

• Jennison Associates cut its stake in Linde by 24.0% in Q4, selling 48,612 shares and leaving 153,975 shares valued at about $65.65 million, while institutional investors overall hold 82.8% of the company.
• Company insiders sold a total of 20,332 shares worth roughly $9.75 million last quarter, including VP Guillermo Bichara (9,455 shares at $480.45) and EVP Sean Durbin (6,520 shares at $477.27), markedly reducing their ownership stakes.
• Analysts have been raising targets and ratings—RBC, JPMorgan and Seaport among them—with a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $527.80.

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 24.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 153,975 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 48,612 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $65,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LIN. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Saranac Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total value of $4,542,654.75. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. This trade represents a 29.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on LIN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Linde from $512.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Linde from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $455.00 to $525.00 in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Mizuho set a $525.00 price target on Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Linde from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Seaport Research Partners raised their price target on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $527.80.

Linde Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of LIN stock opened at $501.14 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $496.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $456.09. Linde PLC has a twelve month low of $387.78 and a twelve month high of $515.63. The company has a market capitalization of $232.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.The company had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.97 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.8 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.87%.

About Linde

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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