Flputnam Investment Management Co. Has $3.76 Million Stake in Linde PLC $LIN

Flputnam Investment Management Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 60.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,824 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 13,631 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Linde were worth $3,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $507.87 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $500.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $464.50. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $521.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.95 earnings per share. Linde’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Mizuho set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Linde from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $540.00.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the 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 directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.30% 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.