Linde PLC $LIN Stock Position Raised by M&T Bank Corp

Key Points

• M&T Bank raised its stake in Linde by 4.8% to 56,317 shares (about $24.0M), amid broader institutional activity that leaves roughly 82.8% of the stock owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Linde beat quarterly estimates with $4.33 EPS (vs. $4.27 expected) and $8.78B revenue, and set FY 2026 EPS guidance of 17.60–17.90, in line with analyst forecasts.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share (annualized $6.40, ~1.3% yield), while multiple analysts raised price targets and the consensus rating remains a Buy with a $533 target.

M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,317 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,598 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Linde were worth $24,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. raised its stake in shares of Linde by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 2,397 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,022,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $521,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,278 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,383,000 after acquiring an additional 2,294 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN opened at $493.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $496.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $456.06. 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 PLC has a 12-month low of $387.78 and a 12-month high of $521.28.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released 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. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The firm had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.95 EPS. The company's revenue 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Linde from $512.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Erste Group Bank raised Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Seaport Research Partners raised their price objective on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $533.00.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257 in the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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