Confluence Investment Management LLC Sells 12,488 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Confluence Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 297,323 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 12,488 shares during the period. Linde comprises 1.9% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $126,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Linde by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,319,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,176,828,000 after purchasing an additional 172,162 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Linde by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,329,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,431,639,000 after buying an additional 83,236 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the second quarter valued at about $3,098,772,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Linde by 6.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,287,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,036,594,000 after buying an additional 242,733 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 4.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,895,026 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,850,137,000 after buying an additional 176,650 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,643,729.02. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Linde stock opened at $489.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $510.65. The firm has a market cap of $226.97 billion, a PE ratio of 33.57, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $472.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $450.80.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.97 EPS. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. Analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. DZ Bank cut shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.20.

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.