Insider Selling: Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) VP Sells $2,094,802.03 in Stock

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Guillermo Bichara also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 17th, Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of Linde stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total transaction of $4,542,654.75.

Linde Stock Up 0.7%

LIN stock opened at $493.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $228.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.82. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $387.78 and a 1-year high of $510.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $467.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $450.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The company had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. Research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Linde from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth $4,243,000. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd boosted its position in shares of Linde by 45.5% in the 3rd 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. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Linde by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 205,318 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $97,526,000 after purchasing an additional 22,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its stake in Linde by 27.2% in the 2nd quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 417,001 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $195,649,000 after purchasing an additional 89,129 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.