State of Michigan Retirement System Decreases Holdings in Linde PLC $LIN

State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 131,704 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Linde were worth $62,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. YANKCOM Partnership grew its position in Linde by 195.2% during the 3rd quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in Linde by 87.8% in the third quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 77 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LIN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets set a $501.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $516.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Linde from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $513.56.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $448.24 on Friday. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $486.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $431.09 and its 200 day moving average is $447.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.The business had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.97 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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, sell-side analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat estimates: adjusted EPS $4.20 (vs. $4.18 consensus) and revenue $8.76B (+6% YoY), showing margin resilience and underlying demand. Businesswire: Linde Reports Full-Year and Fourth-Quarter 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year operating profit reported at $8.9B, indicating solid profitability for 2025. Gasworld: Linde reports full year operating profit of $8.9bn
• Positive Sentiment: Company cites record backlog and restructuring initiatives as drivers of steady growth and the 2026 outlook (EPS target $17.40–$17.90). MSN: Linde sees another year of steady growth as Q4 results beat forecasts
• Neutral Sentiment: Management set FY2026 EPS guidance at $17.40–$17.90 and Q1 at $4.20–$4.30 — roughly in line with consensus but tight to the low side of estimates, leaving little upside surprise potential. Linde FY2026 guidance (slide deck)
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed a “neutral” rating with a $455 price target (only modest upside from current levels), signaling limited near-term analyst-driven buy pressure. Benzinga: JPMorgan reaffirms neutral on Linde
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares fell after guidance was viewed as disappointing relative to expectations despite the earnings beat; coverage and headlines highlighted the guidance miss. Investing.com: Linde shares fall over 2% as 2026 guidance disappoints
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/headcount action: Linde announced engineering job cuts as it addresses supply-chain challenges — short-term disruption and execution risk that can worry investors. Gasworld: Linde cuts jobs in engineering

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.