Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Raises Stock Holdings in Linde PLC $LIN

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 111,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,071 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Linde were worth $47,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the second quarter worth $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the third quarter valued at $27,000. YANKCOM Partnership boosted its stake in Linde by 195.2% during the 3rd quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $495.49 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $476.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $451.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.88. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $387.78 and a 1-year high of $510.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.82.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The business had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.97 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. This is an increase 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 43.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LIN shares. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Linde in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. DZ Bank cut Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $515.20.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.