ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors LLC increased its Linde stake by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 225,563 shares and bringing its total holding to 1,174,791 shares worth about $500.9 million.
• Wall Street analysts remain broadly positive on Linde, with an average Buy rating and a consensus price target of $540. Citigroup, UBS, and Morgan Stanley all maintained bullish views, though DZ Bank downgraded the stock to Hold.
• Linde reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, or $6.40 annually, implying a 1.3% yield.

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,174,791 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 225,563 shares during the period. Linde makes up about 0.9% of ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Linde worth $500,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Saranac Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its position in Linde by 134.5% in the 4th quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Linde from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, DZ Bank cut shares of Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $540.00.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were 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 owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $510.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $236.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $497.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $459.99. 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 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.95 EPS. 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 fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is 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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