Linde PLC $LIN Stock Position Boosted by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 148,907 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 20,555 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $63,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blalock Williams LLC grew its position in Linde by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Blalock Williams LLC now owns 510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its position in Linde by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc grew its position in Linde by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA grew its position in Linde by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 711 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mayport LLC grew its position in Linde by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Mayport LLC now owns 504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Down 0.0%

NASDAQ LIN opened at $507.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $502.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $467.74. Linde PLC has a 12 month low of $387.78 and a 12 month high of $521.28. The company has a market capitalization of $234.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.70, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 earned $3.95 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. Equities research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 42.50%.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total transaction of $2,094,802.03. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,643,729.02. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday. 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. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $560.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $541.91.

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.