Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Acquires 12,600 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 129,110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,600 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Linde were worth $55,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Linde by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,953,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $19,167,559,000 after acquiring an additional 354,800 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Linde by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,319,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,176,828,000 after acquiring an additional 172,162 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Linde by 0.9% during 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. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Linde by 6.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,287,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,036,594,000 after acquiring an additional 242,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Linde by 4.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,895,026 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,850,137,000 after acquiring an additional 176,650 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $493.16 on Monday. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $521.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $496.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $457.12. The company has a market capitalization of $228.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.75, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.73.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.95 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Linde from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $560.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Mizuho set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $540.00.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total value of $4,542,654.75. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,636,202.10. The trade was a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Linde 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.