Norges Bank Takes $3.25 Billion Position in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Norges Bank initiated a major new stake in Linde, buying 7.6 million shares valued at about $3.25 billion and ending the quarter with roughly 1.63% ownership of the company.
• Wall Street sentiment on Linde remains broadly positive, with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $540, though one firm downgraded the stock to Hold while others raised targets or upgraded ratings.
• Linde recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.33 and revenue of $8.78 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share.

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 7,614,508 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $3,246,750,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.63% of Linde at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Saranac Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on LIN shares. DZ Bank cut shares of Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank raised Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Linde from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners increased their price target on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $540.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,643,729.02. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the firm's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $497.69 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $501.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $465.31. 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 PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $521.28. The company has a market capitalization of $230.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.73.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. Linde's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.95 earnings per share. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued 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 is Thursday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.50%.

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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