Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC Makes New $2.85 Million Investment in Linde PLC $LIN

Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC purchased a new stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,989 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,845,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the second quarter worth $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its position in shares of Linde by 195.2% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of LIN stock opened at $508.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.88. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $510.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $454.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $449.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.44 billion, a PE ratio of 34.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.84.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $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, research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Linde in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 target price on the stock. DZ Bank cut Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup increased their target price on Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were 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 $10,636,202.10. This trade represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.