Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Purchases 1,249 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI lifted its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 58,814 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares during the period. Linde comprises approximately 1.8% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Linde were worth $25,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in Linde in the third quarter worth $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership boosted its position in shares of Linde by 195.2% in the 3rd quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $479.84 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $474.46 and a 200 day moving average of $450.67. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $510.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.82.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the company earned $3.97 earnings per share. 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. DZ Bank lowered Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup boosted their price target on 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 upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Linde currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.20.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $3,111,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.