Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Raises Dividend to $1.60 Per Share

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of 1.60 per share by the basic materials company on Thursday, March 26th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This is a 6.7% increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50.

Linde has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 5 consecutive years. Linde has a dividend payout ratio of 33.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Linde to earn $18.02 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 33.3%.

Linde Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of LIN traded up $2.87 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $506.87. The stock had a trading volume of 1,827,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,621,552. Linde has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $509.62. The firm has a market cap of $236.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s fifty day moving average is $449.38 and its 200 day moving average is $448.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.97 EPS. Linde’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 predict that Linde will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total transaction of $4,542,654.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,636,202.10. This represents a 29.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Linde by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,953,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $19,167,559,000 after buying an additional 354,800 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,319,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,176,828,000 after acquiring an additional 172,162 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Linde by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,353,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,820,533,000 after purchasing an additional 35,945 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,127,594 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,318,325,000 after buying an additional 797,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Linde by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,784,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,171,959,000 after buying an additional 695,771 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

About Linde

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.