Madison Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Madison Asset Management increased its stake in Linde by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 46,772 shares valued at about $19.9 million.
• Linde reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.33 beating estimates and revenue of $8.78 billion also topping forecasts; the company also raised guidance for FY 2026 and Q2 2026.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus Buy rating and a target price of $540.00.

Madison Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,772 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 3,171 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $19,943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 27,341 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $11,658,000 after buying an additional 2,234 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,243,000. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd raised its position in Linde by 45.5% during the third quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 236,206 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $112,198,000 after purchasing an additional 73,850 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 967,516 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $459,570,000 after purchasing an additional 24,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 143.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 15,044 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,415,000 after purchasing an additional 8,863 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Price Performance

Linde stock opened at $503.87 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $232.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $496.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $458.17. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $521.28.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.95 earnings per share. The company'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, research analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of Linde 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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. Insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $560.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $540.00.

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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