Sands Capital Management LLC Sells 2,295 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Sands Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 84,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,295 shares during the period. Sands Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $40,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 4.8% in the third 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. Brentview Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 3.3% during the third quarter. Brentview Investment Management LLC now owns 12,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,119,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $7,846,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Linde by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 13,308 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,321,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Linde by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 94,592 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,931,000 after acquiring an additional 4,693 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Linde stock opened at $477.94 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $221.47 billion, a PE ratio of 32.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.82. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $510.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $463.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $449.88.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.97 earnings per share. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a $1.60 dividend. 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 presently 41.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Linde in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $508.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total transaction of $4,542,654.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. This represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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.