American Century Companies Inc. Sells 25,043 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 463,292 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 25,043 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.10% of Linde worth $220,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. YANKCOM Partnership grew its position in Linde by 195.2% during the 3rd quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $508.08 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 12 month low of $387.78 and a 12 month high of $510.65. The stock has a market cap of $235.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.82, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $454.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $449.46.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a $1.60 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total transaction of $4,542,654.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. This trade represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $516.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. DZ Bank lowered 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Linde from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Mizuho set a $525.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $508.20.

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.