Linde PLC $LIN Shares Sold by State of Wisconsin Investment Board

State of Wisconsin Investment Board decreased its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 245,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,629 shares during the quarter. State of Wisconsin Investment Board owned approximately 0.05% of Linde worth $104,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blalock Williams LLC raised its stake in Linde by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Blalock Williams LLC now owns 510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in Linde by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of Linde by 10.2% in the second quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA increased its stake in shares of Linde by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 711 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Mayport LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Mayport LLC now owns 504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $518.17 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $505.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $473.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.72. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $525.87.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.60 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.95 earnings per share. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on LIN. 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 note on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Seaport Research Partners raised their price target on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $560.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Linde from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $541.91.

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.