Ossiam Reduces Position in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Ossiam trimmed its stake in Linde by 30.7% in Q3, selling 18,289 shares and ending the quarter with 41,344 shares worth about $19.64 million.
• Major institutions have been adding to Linde — including a new Norges Bank stake (~$3.10 billion) and large buys by Assenagon and DZ Bank — leaving roughly 82.8% of the stock owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Linde recently beat Q results (EPS $4.20 vs. $4.18 consensus), raised its quarterly dividend to $1.60 ($6.40 annual, 1.3% yield), and provided FY2026 guidance while analysts maintain a consensus Buy rating with a $515.20 target.

Ossiam decreased its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 30.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,344 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 18,289 shares during the period. Ossiam's holdings in Linde were worth $19,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,098,772,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Linde by 82.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,683,248 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $799,543,000 after buying an additional 760,954 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in Linde by 18.5% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,972,515 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,394,198,000 after buying an additional 463,977 shares during the last quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. acquired a new position in Linde during the second quarter worth $187,359,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 48.7% in the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,131,132 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $530,617,000 after buying an additional 370,261 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $493.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $228.88 billion, a PE ratio of 33.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $510.65. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $467.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $450.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.97 EPS. Linde's revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde's payout ratio is presently 43.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Linde from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $455.00 to $525.00 in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.20.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total value of $4,542,654.75. Following the sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,636,202.10. The trade was a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Linde 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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