Markel Group Inc. Acquires 7,250 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Markel Group increased its Linde stake by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 7,250 more shares and bringing its total position to 200,100 shares valued at about $85.3 million.
• Linde’s recent results were solid, with Q1 EPS of $4.33 topping estimates and revenue of $8.78 billion beating expectations; the company also raised guidance for fiscal 2026 and Q2 2026.
• Wall Street remains upbeat on Linde, with a consensus Buy rating and an average target price of $540, while the stock recently traded near its 52-week high at $517.58.

Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 200,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,250 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $85,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blalock Williams LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Blalock Williams LLC now owns 510 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc lifted its stake in Linde by 10.2% during the second quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 237 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA lifted its stake in Linde by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 711 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mayport LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Mayport LLC now owns 504 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $560.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $540.00.

Linde Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of LIN opened at $517.58 on Friday. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $521.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.37, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $499.78 and a 200-day moving average of $462.12.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 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 company had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.95 EPS. Linde's 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total value of $2,094,802.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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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