Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stock Holdings in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank raised its stake in Linde by 1.6% to 423,031 shares (about $180.4M), making LIN its 29th-largest position.
• Linde beat Q4 estimates with $4.20 EPS and $8.76B revenue and set FY2026 guidance at $17.40–$17.90 EPS.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.60 ($6.40 annual, ~1.3% yield); insiders sold roughly 20,332 shares (~$9.75M) and analysts hold a consensus "Buy" with an average target of $521.60.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 423,031 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,827 shares during the period. Linde accounts for about 0.4% of Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.09% of Linde worth $180,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Exane Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth $22,197,000. Krilogy Financial LLC increased its stake in Linde by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 1,858 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. BigSur Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Linde by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. BigSur Wealth Management LLC now owns 761 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Linde by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 632 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Linde by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,428 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,710,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Linde stock opened at $492.23 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.10 billion, a PE ratio of 33.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.78. Linde PLC has a one year low of $387.78 and a one year high of $510.65. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $491.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $453.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.The company had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.97 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a $1.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 $10,643,729.02. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on LIN. UBS Group lifted their price target on Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho set a $525.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Linde from $545.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $521.60.

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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