PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators Takes $11.38 Million Position in Linde PLC $LIN

PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 26,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,380,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Linde during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in Linde during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Saranac Partners Ltd bought a new position in Linde during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Linde during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its position in Linde by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $507.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.83 billion, a PE ratio of 33.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72. Linde PLC has a twelve month low of $387.78 and a twelve month high of $521.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $503.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $468.02.

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

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on LIN shares. Seaport Research Partners increased their price target on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Mizuho set a $525.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $541.91.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 transaction, the executive vice president 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. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.