Renaissance Technologies LLC Raises Position in Linde PLC $LIN

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 394.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 629,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 502,520 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for approximately 0.5% of Renaissance Technologies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $312,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,610,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,245,255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275,477 shares in the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in Linde by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 83,262 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,408 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in Linde by 143.4% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 15,044 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,415,000 after purchasing an additional 8,863 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Linde by 177.2% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,263,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $538,558,000 after purchasing an additional 807,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trium Capital LLP raised its holdings in Linde by 85.3% during the fourth quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 5,132 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,188,000 after purchasing an additional 2,362 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on LIN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $559.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Linde in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Seaport Research Partners raised their target price on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $548.67.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $512.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $516.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $493.94. The stock has a market cap of $236.85 billion, a PE ratio of 34.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.72. Linde PLC has a one year low of $387.78 and a one year high of $548.20.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly 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. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The company had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th were paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 42.50%.

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.