Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Purchases 10,827 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 10.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 116,510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 10,827 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Linde were worth $55,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Linde by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 508 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Embree Financial Group lifted its holdings in Linde by 4.9% during the third quarter. Embree Financial Group now owns 469 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc boosted its position in Linde by 10.2% during the second quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in Linde by 0.3% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 8,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,071,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Linde by 24.5% in the third quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Linde stock opened at $488.57 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $471.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $450.53. 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 company has a market cap of $226.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.82.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.97 EPS. Linde’s 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 analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on LIN shares. DZ Bank cut shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Linde in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Linde from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $455.00 to $525.00 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total value of $2,094,802.03. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,643,729.02. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257 in the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Linde Company 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.