CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. Invests $206.75 Million in Linde PLC $LIN

CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 435,256 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,747,000. Linde comprises approximately 0.7% of CIBC Bancorp USA Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. First Affirmative Financial Network increased its position in shares of Linde by 2.1% during the third quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 1,968 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Caerus Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth $395,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,979 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,540,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $260,822,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LIN shares. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a research note 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. CICC Research initiated coverage on Linde in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Linde from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $455.00 to $525.00 in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $515.20.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $494.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $470.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $450.26. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $387.78 and a 1-year high of $510.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.94 billion, a PE ratio of 33.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.82.

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, 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.97 EPS. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a $1.60 dividend. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.87%.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,636,202.10. This represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This represents 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 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.