Rep. Thomas H. Kean, Jr. Buys Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares

Representative Thomas H. Kean, Jr. (Republican-New Jersey) recently bought shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN). In a filing disclosed on March 18th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Linde stock on February 18th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “KEAN FAMILY PARTNERSHIP” account.

Representative Thomas H. Kean, Jr. also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) on 2/13/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) on 2/5/2026.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) on 2/5/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) on 1/29/2026.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Stryker (NYSE:SYK) on 1/23/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on 1/23/2026.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) on 1/23/2026.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) on 1/23/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) on 1/7/2026.

Linde Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Linde stock opened at $479.84 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. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $510.65. The firm has a market cap of $222.35 billion, a PE ratio of 32.89, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $474.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $450.67.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the company posted $3.97 EPS. The business’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. Analysts expect 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. Shareholders 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 a boost 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 presently 43.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Linde from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup boosted 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. Mizuho set a $525.00 target price on Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,643,729.02. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Linde

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,246,750,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Linde by 10,454.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,424,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,033,940,000 after acquiring an additional 2,401,894 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in Linde by 42,539.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,321,809 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $56,361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318,709 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Linde by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,610,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,245,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275,477 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Linde by 40.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,941,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,680,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130,001 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Representative Kean

Thomas Kean Jr. (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2023. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Kean (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Thomas Kean Jr. lives in Westfield, New Jersey. Kean earned a master’s degree from the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. His career experience includes working with the Environmental Protection Agency during the George H.W. Bush administration and as an advisor to former U.S. Representative Bob Franks, a firefighter, and an emergency medical technician. Kean has served as the vice president of a fire department.

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.