Whalen Wealth Management Inc. Purchases 2,268 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Whalen Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 187.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,475 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,268 shares during the period. Linde comprises 0.8% of Whalen Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Whalen Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LIN. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth $27,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership raised its holdings in Linde by 195.2% in the 3rd quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth $30,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,643,729.02. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Linde from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $530.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho set a $525.00 price objective on Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. DZ Bank downgraded 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, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $515.20.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $502.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Linde PLC has a twelve month low of $387.78 and a twelve month high of $510.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $483.36 and a 200-day moving average of $452.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.78.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. Linde’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.97 earnings per share. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 43.87%.

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.