Linde PLC $LIN Shares Purchased by First Financial Bank Trust Division

First Financial Bank Trust Division boosted its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1,206.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,533 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,033 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Linde were worth $2,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $2,752,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $736,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Linde by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 897 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First American Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 903 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $10,636,202.10. This trade represents a 29.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $488.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $387.78 and a 1-year high of $510.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $471.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $450.53.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Linde from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $455.00 to $525.00 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Linde from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $515.20.

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.