North Dakota State Investment Board Acquires New Shares in Linde PLC $LIN

North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 16,105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,867,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LIN. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 10,454.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,424,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,033,940,000 after purchasing an additional 2,401,894 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth $453,274,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth $260,822,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Linde by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,124,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $910,129,000 after acquiring an additional 544,850 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth $206,747,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $4,542,654.75. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. The trade was a 29.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $506.11 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $497.02 and its 200-day moving average is $459.51. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $521.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $234.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.61, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.73.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.95 EPS. The business’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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on LIN. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho set a $525.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $540.00.

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.