Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC Invests $2.85 Million in Linde PLC $LIN

Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,989 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,845,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Linde by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,638,847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,943,654,000 after acquiring an additional 292,492 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,098,772,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Linde by 4.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,044,833 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,897,755,000 after purchasing an additional 185,294 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Linde by 0.7% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,718,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,744,588,000 after purchasing an additional 24,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Linde by 1.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,605,118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,690,961,000 after buying an additional 40,216 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $508.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $235.44 billion, a PE ratio of 34.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.84. Linde PLC has a 12 month low of $387.78 and a 12 month high of $510.65. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $454.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $449.46.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.97 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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 anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 41.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,636,202.10. This represents a 29.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on LIN shares. Weiss Ratings raised Linde from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Linde from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. DZ Bank cut Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $508.20.

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.