Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Increases Holdings in Linde PLC $LIN

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,838 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,053 shares during the period. Linde accounts for 0.6% of Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Linde were worth $13,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 4.5% during 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 period. Embree Financial Group boosted its position in shares of Linde by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Embree Financial Group now owns 469 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 10.2% in the second quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.3% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 8,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,071,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its position in Linde by 24.5% during 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 during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $493.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $228.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.82. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $387.78 and a 12-month high of $510.65. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $467.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $450.49. 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 (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.64 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. Linde’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on LIN shares. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Linde from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $455.00 to $525.00 in a report on Friday. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Linde in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $515.20.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,636,202.10. The trade was a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257. Company 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.