Linde PLC $LIN Stock Position Raised by Mirova

Mirova grew its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,937 shares during the period. Linde accounts for approximately 1.4% of Mirova’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Mirova’s holdings in Linde were worth $9,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LIN. State Street Corp raised its position in Linde by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,319,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,176,828,000 after acquiring an additional 172,162 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Linde by 0.9% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,329,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,431,639,000 after acquiring an additional 83,236 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Linde in the second quarter worth approximately $3,098,772,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Linde by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,287,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,036,594,000 after purchasing an additional 242,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Linde by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,895,026 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,850,137,000 after purchasing an additional 176,650 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of LIN stock opened at $488.57 on Thursday. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $510.65. The stock has a market cap of $226.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $471.15 and a 200-day moving average of $450.53.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.97 EPS. 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, equities research analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total value of $2,094,802.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LIN shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup raised their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Linde from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $455.00 to $525.00 in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Two equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.