Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 9,949 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Securian Asset Management cut its Linde stake by 43.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,949 shares and leaving it with 12,697 shares worth about $5.4 million.
• Linde beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $4.33 versus $4.27 expected and revenue of $8.78 billion versus $8.60 billion expected, while raising FY 2026 guidance to $17.60-$17.90 EPS.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with multiple firms lifting price targets and the stock carrying a consensus Buy rating and average target of $540.

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 43.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,697 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 9,949 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $5,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC raised its stake in 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 worth $11,658,000 after buying an additional 2,234 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Linde during the third quarter valued at $4,243,000. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd grew its holdings 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 grew its holdings in Linde by 2.6% during the third 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 period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Linde by 143.4% during the fourth 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 period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on LIN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $560.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $540.00.

Linde Stock Performance

Linde stock opened at $493.16 on Monday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $496.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $457.12. 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 market cap of $228.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.75, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.73. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $521.28.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The business had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.95 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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, analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.50%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total transaction of $4,542,654.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. This trade represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the business'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 transaction 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 approximately $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. Insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257 over the last quarter. 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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