Linde PLC $LIN Shares Sold by Polaris Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Polaris Capital Management cut its stake in Linde by 20.5%, selling 34,486 shares and leaving 133,883 shares worth about $57.09 million (Linde is 4.7% of Polaris’s portfolio and its third-largest holding); institutional ownership of Linde stands at 82.8% with other firms like SG Americas dramatically increasing positions.
• Analysts are broadly positive on Linde, with a consensus "Buy" rating and an average target of $527.80, while multiple brokers have recently raised price targets (Citigroup to $580, RBC to $552, JPMorgan to $525) and Erste upgraded to a strong-buy.
• Linde beat quarterly estimates (EPS $4.20 vs. $4.18; revenue $8.76B vs. $8.64B), set FY2026 EPS guidance of $17.40–$17.90, and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.60 (annualized $6.40; ~1.3% yield).

Polaris Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 20.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 133,883 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 34,486 shares during the period. Linde comprises 4.7% of Polaris Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Polaris Capital Management LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $57,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 10,454.4% in the 4th 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 bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $453,274,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $260,822,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Linde by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,124,882 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $910,129,000 after purchasing an additional 544,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,747,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the subject of several research reports. Erste Group Bank raised Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Linde from $512.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. DZ Bank downgraded Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Linde from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $455.00 to $525.00 in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Linde from $545.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Linde has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $527.80.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $510.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $495.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $454.86. Linde PLC has a one year low of $387.78 and a one year high of $510.65. The firm has a market cap of $236.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.78.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.97 EPS. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.81 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This is an increase from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde's payout ratio is currently 43.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total value of $2,094,802.03. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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