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

First Financial Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1,206.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,533 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,033 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Linde were worth $2,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total value of $4,542,654.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,636,202.10. The trade was a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the sale, 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. Insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $488.57 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $471.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $450.53. The firm has a market cap of $226.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.82. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $387.78 and a 12-month high of $510.65.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.97 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $1.60 dividend. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 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%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $530.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho set a $525.00 price target on Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average 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.