Perpetual Ltd Sells 162,059 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Perpetual Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 96.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,469 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 162,059 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Linde were worth $2,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd boosted its holdings in Linde by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 236,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $112,198,000 after acquiring an additional 73,850 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC increased its stake in Linde by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 27,341 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,234 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,243,000. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 2.6% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 967,516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $459,570,000 after purchasing an additional 24,624 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 12.3% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 205,318 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $97,526,000 after purchasing an additional 22,489 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total transaction of $3,111,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total transaction of $2,094,802.03. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,643,729.02. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Linde from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.20.

Linde Price Performance

LIN opened at $502.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.88. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $510.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.90 billion, a PE ratio of 34.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $483.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $451.98.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.97 earnings per share. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 43.87%.

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.