Linde PLC $LIN Stock Position Decreased by Bridges Investment Management Inc.

Bridges Investment Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,746 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,160 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $21,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, May 4th. Erste Group Bank raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Seaport Research Partners increased their price objective on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. DZ Bank lowered Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $541.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $2,094,802.03. Following the sale, the vice president 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Linde Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ LIN opened at $495.91 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $501.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $466.12. Linde PLC has a twelve month low of $387.78 and a twelve month high of $521.28. The stock has a market cap of $229.28 billion, a PE ratio of 32.93, a PEG ratio of 3.12 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue 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, research analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.50%.

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.