Whitener Capital Management Inc. Buys 3,953 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Whitener Capital Management purchased 3,953 Linde shares worth approximately $1.88 million, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 82.8% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with Linde carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $547.10, supported by several recent target increases and a new Barclays overweight rating.
• Linde reported quarterly revenue of $9.29 billion and EPS of $4.50, exceeding estimates, while revenue grew 9.3% year over year. The company also pays a $1.60 quarterly dividend, although its valuation near 32 times earnings may limit upside.

Whitener Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,953 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,876,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. State Street Corp boosted its position in Linde by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,344,181 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,558,016,000 after buying an additional 719,052 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Linde by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,402,317 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,303,494,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,751 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Linde by 13.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,162,409 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,567,796,000 after acquiring an additional 373,012 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Linde by 2.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,740,541 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,358,712,000 after acquiring an additional 64,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Linde by 28.6% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,624,728 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $805,475,000 after acquiring an additional 361,664 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on Linde from $532.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Argus reduced their price target on Linde from $563.00 to $538.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 28th. Barclays started coverage on Linde in a research note on Monday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $577.00 price objective for the company. Evercore raised their price objective on Linde from $515.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Linde from $535.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Linde presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $547.10.

Key Headlines Impacting Linde

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgraded Linde to “strong buy,” signaling increased confidence in the industrial-gases producer’s earnings outlook and business durability. Barclays upgrade report
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada retained an “outperform” rating and its revised $549 target still implies meaningful upside from the current share price, despite the modest target reduction. RBC analyst action
• Positive Sentiment: A recent article highlighted Linde’s exposure to industrial gases and long-term secular growth trends, reinforcing the company’s positioning in essential industrial markets. Linde adds exposure to industrial gases and secular growth trends
• Positive Sentiment: Linde was featured among dividend companies viewed as capable of raising prices without materially damaging demand, supporting its defensive appeal and potential for continued cash-flow growth. Five boring dividend stocks that could keep growing
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst-rating coverage remains an important focus for investors, but the available report provides no specific new earnings or valuation forecast. What investment firms are saying about Linde
• Negative Sentiment: One valuation-focused analysis argued that Linde appears fully valued on current earnings. With a reported forward-looking valuation near 32 times earnings, this could limit upside and make the stock sensitive to weaker growth or disappointing guidance. Linde stock looks fully valued on current earnings

Linde Trading Up 0.1%

LIN opened at $493.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.36 billion, a PE ratio of 31.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.71. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $478.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $498.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $387.78 and a 12-month high of $548.20.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.01. Linde had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 20.09%. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-17.900 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.34%.

About Linde

Linde plc NASDAQ: LIN is a global industrial gases and engineering company that supplies gases, related equipment and process technologies to customers in healthcare, manufacturing, chemicals, energy, food and beverage, electronics, and other industries. Its products include oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases.

The company provides gases through on-site production facilities, pipelines, bulk deliveries and packaged cylinders. It also designs and builds industrial gas plants and offers technologies and services for applications such as hydrogen production, carbon capture, clean energy, semiconductor manufacturing, metal fabrication and medical care.

Linde traces its history to 1879, when German engineer Carl von Linde developed refrigeration and gas-related technologies.

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