Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd Reduces Stock Position in Linde PLC $LIN

Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd lowered its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,006,533 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 278,430 shares during the period. Linde makes up about 4.7% of Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Linde were worth $478,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Linde in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its holdings in Linde by 195.2% during the third quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT boosted its position in Linde by 87.8% during the 3rd quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 77 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $455.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Friday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Linde from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Linde in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $513.56.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $448.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $209.31 billion, a PE ratio of 30.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $431.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $447.66. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $486.38.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.64 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.97 earnings per share. 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, equities analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Linde News

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat estimates: adjusted EPS $4.20 (vs. $4.18 consensus) and revenue $8.76B (+6% YoY), showing margin resilience and underlying demand. Businesswire: Linde Reports Full-Year and Fourth-Quarter 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year operating profit reported at $8.9B, indicating solid profitability for 2025. Gasworld: Linde reports full year operating profit of $8.9bn
• Positive Sentiment: Company cites record backlog and restructuring initiatives as drivers of steady growth and the 2026 outlook (EPS target $17.40–$17.90). MSN: Linde sees another year of steady growth as Q4 results beat forecasts
• Neutral Sentiment: Management set FY2026 EPS guidance at $17.40–$17.90 and Q1 at $4.20–$4.30 — roughly in line with consensus but tight to the low side of estimates, leaving little upside surprise potential. Linde FY2026 guidance (slide deck)
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed a “neutral” rating with a $455 price target (only modest upside from current levels), signaling limited near-term analyst-driven buy pressure. Benzinga: JPMorgan reaffirms neutral on Linde
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares fell after guidance was viewed as disappointing relative to expectations despite the earnings beat; coverage and headlines highlighted the guidance miss. Investing.com: Linde shares fall over 2% as 2026 guidance disappoints
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/headcount action: Linde announced engineering job cuts as it addresses supply-chain challenges — short-term disruption and execution risk that can worry investors. Gasworld: Linde cuts jobs in engineering

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.