Linde PLC $LIN Stock Holdings Increased by DNB Asset Management AS

DNB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 104,014 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,840 shares during the quarter. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Linde were worth $44,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,953,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $19,167,559,000 after purchasing an additional 354,800 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,319,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,176,828,000 after purchasing an additional 172,162 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,329,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,431,639,000 after purchasing an additional 83,236 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,287,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,036,594,000 after purchasing an additional 242,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,895,026 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,850,137,000 after purchasing an additional 176,650 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $506.11 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $497.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $459.41. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $521.28. The company has a market capitalization of $234.00 billion, a PE ratio of 33.61, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 expect that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on LIN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, May 4th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $530.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $540.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,636,202.10. This represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Linde Company 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.