Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Buys New Stake in Linde PLC $LIN

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,288,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,786,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 96.6% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 57 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 74.2% in the second quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 54 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the third quarter worth $29,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its position in Linde by 1,450.0% during the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polaris Financial Partners acquired a new position in Linde during the third quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $514.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $237.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.17, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $483.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $492.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Linde PLC has a twelve month low of $387.78 and a twelve month high of $548.20.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.07. Linde had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 19.34%. The company had revenue of $9.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 3rd. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Linde’s payout ratio is 41.34%.

Linde News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results exceeded expectations: Adjusted EPS was $4.59, above the $4.52 consensus and up 9% year over year, while sales rose 9.3% to $9.40 billion, topping the $9.16 billion estimate. Linde Reports Third-Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Growth drivers remain intact: Higher pricing, volume growth in the Americas, strong electronics demand and AI-related semiconductor investment supported the quarter. Management also cited a $7.9 billion project backlog, providing visibility into future growth. LIN Q3 Earnings Call Highlights Restructuring and Growth Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their valuation targets: Barclays lifted its target from $577 to $591 and maintained an “overweight” rating, while RBC raised its target from $549 to $568 and upgraded or maintained an “outperform” view. The revisions signal continued confidence in Linde’s earnings durability and growth prospects.
• Neutral Sentiment: Underlying performance was stronger than reported GAAP results: GAAP net income declined 12% because of purchase-accounting effects and restructuring-related items, but adjusted net income increased 7% to $2.12 billion. Linde plc Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Restructuring and near-term uncertainty temper the outlook: Linde expects a $425 million restructuring charge and guided fourth-quarter EPS to $4.40–$4.50. Uneven industrial demand, margin pressure and an evaluation of options for Lincare could limit near-term upside.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, October 19th. Bank of America upped their price target on Linde from $532.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Linde from $612.00 to $574.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Linde from $535.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Linde from $580.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.14.

Linde Profile

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It produces and distributes atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases. The company serves customers through packaged gases, bulk deliveries, on-site production and pipeline systems.

Linde’s products and services support a broad range of industries, including healthcare, food and beverage, manufacturing, chemicals, energy, refining, electronics and metals.