Linde PLC $LIN Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 591,503 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 15,655 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.13% of Linde worth $280,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. YANKCOM Partnership boosted its stake in Linde by 195.2% during the 3rd quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of Linde 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $484.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $510.65. The company has a market cap of $224.62 billion, a PE ratio of 33.22, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $461.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $450.32.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.64 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last 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. On average, analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors 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 yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, CICC Research initiated 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $508.20.

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.