HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Makes New $9.34 Million Investment in Linde PLC $LIN

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 19,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,335,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LIN. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 55.7% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 455,694 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $216,455,000 after buying an additional 162,968 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Linde by 6.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,287,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,036,594,000 after acquiring an additional 242,733 shares during the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory lifted its holdings in Linde by 66.7% in the third quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 1,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $613,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Linde by 1.6% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 440,666 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $209,335,000 after acquiring an additional 6,966 shares during the period. Finally, Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC increased its stake in Linde by 2,252.9% during the third quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 136,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $64,812,000 after acquiring an additional 130,648 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $490.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business’s 50 day moving average is $466.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $450.38. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $510.65. The firm has a market cap of $227.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.61, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. This trade represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of Linde 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on LIN. DZ Bank downgraded Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Linde in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $508.20.

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.