Markel Group Inc. Buys 7,250 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 200,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,250 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $85,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Linde by 0.8% during 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Linde by 0.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Linde by 0.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Linde by 6.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Linde by 4.8% during 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 during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $517.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $499.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $462.12. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $387.78 and a 1-year high of $521.28. The company has a market cap of $239.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.37, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.73.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.95 EPS. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. DZ Bank downgraded Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Linde from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $540.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total value of $2,094,802.03. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.