Linde PLC $LIN Shares Bought by Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 81.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 48,552 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 21,794 shares during the quarter. Linde makes up approximately 0.8% of Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $23,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Linde by 0.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,638,847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,943,654,000 after acquiring an additional 292,492 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Linde by 0.9% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,329,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,431,639,000 after acquiring an additional 83,236 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,098,772,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Linde by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,287,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,036,594,000 after acquiring an additional 242,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Linde by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,895,026 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,850,137,000 after purchasing an additional 176,650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Linde from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $455.00 to $525.00 in a research note on Friday. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Wednesday. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Linde in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $525.00 price objective on Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $515.20.

Linde Price Performance

LIN stock opened at $493.92 on Friday. Linde PLC has a one year low of $387.78 and a one year high of $510.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $467.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $450.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.88 billion, a PE ratio of 33.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.82. 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) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The business had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.97 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly 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. On average, analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other Linde news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total transaction of $3,111,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were 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 owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,643,729.02. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.