Linde PLC $LIN Shares Bought by AXQ Capital LP

AXQ Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 179.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,561 shares during the quarter. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blalock Williams LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Blalock Williams LLC now owns 510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc raised its stake in shares of Linde by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 711 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Mayport LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Mayport LLC now owns 504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Seaport Research Partners raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $560.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $541.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total transaction of $2,094,802.03. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,643,729.02. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $495.91 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $229.28 billion, a PE ratio of 32.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.72. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $521.28. The company has a fifty day moving average of $501.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $466.12.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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, research analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

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

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.