Linde PLC $LIN Stake Increased by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Key Points

• Daiwa Securities Group increased its stake in Linde by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 20,555 shares and bringing its holding to 148,907 shares worth about $63.5 million.
• Linde reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, with EPS of $4.33 versus the $4.27 estimate and revenue of $8.78 billion, up 8.2% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, payable June 18, for an annualized yield of about 1.3%; analysts also remain generally bullish with a consensus Buy rating and a $541.91 price target.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,907 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 20,555 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $63,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LIN. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth $2,752,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Linde by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Linde by 19.8% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in Linde by 19.3% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 897 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in Linde by 3.2% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 5,625 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,639,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Down 0.0%

Linde stock opened at $507.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $502.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $467.74. Linde PLC has a one year low of $387.78 and a one year 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.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. Linde's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.95 EPS. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Linde's payout ratio is presently 42.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Seaport Research Partners boosted their target price on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price 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. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $541.91.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total transaction of $2,094,802.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,643,729.02. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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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