Linde PLC $LIN Shares Purchased by S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,341 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,234 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for about 3.3% of S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $11,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Linde by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,319,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,176,828,000 after buying an additional 172,162 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $4,431,639,000 after buying an additional 83,236 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Linde during the second quarter worth $3,098,772,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Linde by 6.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,287,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,036,594,000 after acquiring an additional 242,733 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Linde by 4.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,895,026 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,850,137,000 after acquiring an additional 176,650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Linde from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $455.00 to $525.00 in a report on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $515.20.

Linde Price Performance

LIN stock opened at $478.05 on Tuesday. 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 market cap of $221.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.77, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.82. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $510.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $473.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $450.60.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.97 EPS. The firm’s quarterly 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, sell-side analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

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

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.