Rep. Thomas H. Kean, Jr. Purchases Shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)

Representative Thomas H. Kean, Jr. (Republican-New Jersey) recently bought shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN). In a filing disclosed on March 18th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Linde stock on February 18th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “KEAN FAMILY PARTNERSHIP” account.

Representative Thomas H. Kean, Jr. also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) on 2/13/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) on 2/5/2026.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) on 2/5/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) on 1/29/2026.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Stryker (NYSE:SYK) on 1/23/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on 1/23/2026.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) on 1/23/2026.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) on 1/23/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) on 1/7/2026.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $478.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $221.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.77, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.82. Linde PLC has a twelve month low of $387.78 and a twelve month high of $510.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $473.72 and a 200 day moving average of $450.60.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.The business had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.97 EPS. The company’s revenue 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 expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total value of $4,542,654.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,636,202.10. This represents a 29.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Linde

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,246,750,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Linde by 10,454.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,424,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,033,940,000 after buying an additional 2,401,894 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in Linde by 42,539.0% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,321,809 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $56,361,000 after buying an additional 1,318,709 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Linde by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,610,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,245,255,000 after buying an additional 1,275,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Linde by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,941,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,680,710,000 after buying an additional 1,130,001 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LIN shares. Mizuho set a $525.00 price objective on Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Linde from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.20.

About Representative Kean

Thomas Kean Jr. (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2023. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Kean (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Thomas Kean Jr. lives in Westfield, New Jersey. Kean earned a master’s degree from the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. His career experience includes working with the Environmental Protection Agency during the George H.W. Bush administration and as an advisor to former U.S. Representative Bob Franks, a firefighter, and an emergency medical technician. Kean has served as the vice president of a fire department.

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.