Rep. Thomas H. Kean, Jr. Purchases Shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)

Representative Thomas H. Kean, Jr. (Republican-New Jersey) recently bought shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN). In a filing disclosed on March 18th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Linde stock on February 18th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “KEAN FAMILY PARTNERSHIP” account.

Representative Thomas H. Kean, Jr. also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) on 2/13/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) on 2/5/2026.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) on 2/5/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) on 1/29/2026.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Stryker (NYSE:SYK) on 1/23/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on 1/23/2026.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) on 1/23/2026.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) on 1/23/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) on 1/7/2026.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of Linde stock traded up $7.38 on Wednesday, reaching $487.22. 296,610 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,705,579. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $225.77 billion, a PE ratio of 33.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $474.46 and its 200-day moving average is $450.67. Linde PLC has a one year low of $387.78 and a one year high of $510.65.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 43.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth $95,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Linde by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 325,158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $138,645,000 after buying an additional 59,154 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Linde by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 3,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,632,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares during the period. Winthrop Partners WNY LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $264,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $239,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,643,729.02. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on LIN. CICC Research initiated coverage on Linde in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.20.

About Representative Kean

Thomas Kean Jr. (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2023. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Kean (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Thomas Kean Jr. lives in Westfield, New Jersey. Kean earned a master’s degree from the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. His career experience includes working with the Environmental Protection Agency during the George H.W. Bush administration and as an advisor to former U.S. Representative Bob Franks, a firefighter, and an emergency medical technician. Kean has served as the vice president of a fire department.

Linde Company Profile

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.