Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Boosts Stock Position in Linde PLC $LIN

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 11.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 51,311 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 5,395 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Linde were worth $25,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Triumph Capital Management raised its position in shares of Linde by 69.2% during the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 66 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Saranac Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 134.5% in the 4th quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of LIN stock traded up $4.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $529.79. 1,857,885 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,264,075. The firm has a market capitalization of $244.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.72. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $387.78 and a 12-month high of $548.20. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $513.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $487.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Linde from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup started coverage on Linde in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $541.75.

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.