Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC Has $47.82 Million Stock Holdings in Linde PLC $LIN

Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 100,666 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 20,120 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for about 4.2% of Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $47,816,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth $27,000. YANKCOM Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 195.2% during the third quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake in Linde by 87.8% in the 3rd quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 77 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on LIN. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $516.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on Linde from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Linde in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $508.20.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $508.27 on Thursday. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $387.78 and a 12-month high of $509.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $237.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $451.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $449.02. 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 (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.The business had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 41.12%.

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.