Renaissance Technologies LLC Increases Position in Linde PLC $LIN

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 394.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 629,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 502,520 shares during the period. Linde makes up about 0.5% of Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.14% of Linde worth $312,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LIN. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID increased its stake in Linde by 96.6% during the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 57 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management increased its stake in Linde by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 66 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 108.6% in the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 73 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $512.28 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $516.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $493.94. The company has a market capitalization of $236.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.72. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $548.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released 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 return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The business had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $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. On average, analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. 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 42.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LIN. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Seaport Research Partners upped their price target on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $548.67.

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.