Insider Selling: Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) EVP Sells $3,111,800.40 in Stock

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Linde Stock Up 0.7%

LIN stock opened at $493.92 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $467.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $450.27. The company has a market capitalization of $228.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.85, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.82. Linde PLC has a twelve month low of $387.78 and a twelve month high of $510.65.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion for 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 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LIN has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Linde from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $455.00 to $525.00 in a research note on Friday. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Wednesday. DZ Bank downgraded Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Linde in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Triumph Capital Management raised its position in shares of Linde by 69.2% during the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 66 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

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.