Strs Ohio Sells 17,436 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Strs Ohio trimmed its stake in Linde by 11.1%, selling 17,436 shares and leaving 139,266 shares worth about $59.38 million.
• Q1 results beat expectations (EPS $4.33 vs. $4.27; revenue $8.78B) and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.60 ($6.40 annual, ~1.3% yield), while FY2026 guidance of $17.60–$17.90 sits slightly below consensus.
• Insider selling totaled ~20,332 shares (~$9.75M) over the past 90 days, even as institutions own 82.8% of the stock and analysts retain a consensus "Buy" with a ~$528 price target.

Strs Ohio lessened its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 139,266 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 17,436 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio's holdings in Linde were worth $59,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Saranac Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $507.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $235.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.81, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.78. Linde PLC has a 12 month low of $387.78 and a 12 month high of $521.28. The firm's 50-day moving average is $496.93 and its 200 day moving average is $456.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The firm's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm 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. Research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.8 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.87%.

Key Headlines Impacting Linde

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results topped expectations — adjusted EPS $4.33 vs. $4.27 consensus and revenue $8.78B (up ~8% YoY); management cited pricing and project start‑ups as growth drivers. Business Wire: Linde Reports First-Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company raised its dividend alongside the quarter, a shareholder‑friendly move that supports income and signals confidence in cash flow. Zacks: Linde Q1 Earnings Beat, Dividend Raised
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability remains strong — net margin (~20.3%) and ROE (~19.5%) indicate healthy cash conversion and operational leverage that support valuations. MarketBeat: Linde Q1 Summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 guidance given at $4.40–$4.50 is essentially in line with the Street (consensus ~4.45), so near‑term guidance doesn’t materially surprise investors either way. Seeking Alpha: Q1 Results Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Management hosted an earnings call and published the slide deck/transcript — useful for assessing segment dynamics (industrial gases, projects) but no new strategic shifts announced. Seeking Alpha: Q1 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: FY 2026 guidance set to $17.60–$17.90 has a midpoint slightly below the current consensus (~17.83), which could be viewed as a modest disappointment if investors expected an upward revision. Zacks: What Key Metrics Say

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was 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 owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,636,202.10. This represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on LIN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Linde from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $455.00 to $525.00 in a research note on Friday, March 13th. DZ Bank cut shares of Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Linde from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho set a $525.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $527.80.

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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