Linde PLC $LIN Stake Lessened by State of Wisconsin Investment Board

State of Wisconsin Investment Board cut its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 245,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,629 shares during the period. State of Wisconsin Investment Board’s holdings in Linde were worth $104,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Triumph Capital Management boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in Linde during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Saranac Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Linde during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Trading Down 0.6%

Linde stock opened at $518.17 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $505.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $473.53. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $525.87. 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 market capitalization of $239.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.72.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The firm had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.95 EPS. The company’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. Research analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LIN shares. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $560.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $541.91.

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.