STF Management LP Sells 4,672 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• STF Management LP cut its Linde position by 64.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,672 shares and leaving it with 2,568 shares valued at about $1.1 million.
• Linde reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.33 and revenue of $8.78 billion, both topping analyst estimates, while revenue rose 8.2% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, and analysts remain bullish overall with an average Buy rating and a consensus price target of $540.

STF Management LP lowered its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 64.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,568 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,672 shares during the period. Linde accounts for 1.0% of STF Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. STF Management LP's holdings in Linde were worth $1,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LIN. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC raised its position in Linde by 8.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,234 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,243,000. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd raised its position in Linde by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 236,206 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $112,198,000 after purchasing an additional 73,850 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its position in Linde by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 967,516 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $459,570,000 after purchasing an additional 24,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in Linde by 143.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 15,044 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,415,000 after purchasing an additional 8,863 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $506.11 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $497.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $459.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.61, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.73. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $521.28. 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 (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.60 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is 42.50%.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other 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 value of $2,094,802.03. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,643,729.02. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $560.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $540.00.

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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