Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 53,904 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership decreased its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 6.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 811,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 53,904 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned 0.17% of Linde worth $385,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd boosted its position in shares of Linde by 35.2% during the 3rd quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 5,784 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Linde by 3.8% during the third quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,093 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS raised its stake in Linde by 2.9% during the third quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 100,174 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,583,000 after purchasing an additional 2,783 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its position in Linde by 2.0% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 18,037 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,568,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Linde by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 2,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were 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 owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,636,202.10. This represents a 29.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $498.51 on Friday. Linde PLC has a one year low of $387.78 and a one year high of $510.65. The stock has a market cap of $232.78 billion, a PE ratio of 34.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $452.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $449.36.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share (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 company 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 business earned $3.97 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $455.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. CICC Research assumed coverage on Linde in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 price objective on the stock. Erste Group Bank raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Linde from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $508.20.

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.