PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab Purchases Shares of 397,080 Linde PLC $LIN

PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 397,080 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $170,093,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blalock Williams LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Blalock Williams LLC now owns 510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 26,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,239,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S grew its holdings in Linde by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 569,838 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $242,973,000 after purchasing an additional 20,739 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $507.92 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $235.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average is $496.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $456.09. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $521.28.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.95 EPS. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.8 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 43.87%.

Linde News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results topped expectations — adjusted EPS $4.33 vs. $4.27 consensus and revenue $8.78B (up ~8% YoY); management cited pricing and project start‑ups as growth drivers. Business Wire: Linde Reports First-Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company raised its dividend alongside the quarter, a shareholder‑friendly move that supports income and signals confidence in cash flow. Zacks: Linde Q1 Earnings Beat, Dividend Raised
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability remains strong — net margin (~20.3%) and ROE (~19.5%) indicate healthy cash conversion and operational leverage that support valuations. MarketBeat: Linde Q1 Summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 guidance given at $4.40–$4.50 is essentially in line with the Street (consensus ~4.45), so near‑term guidance doesn’t materially surprise investors either way. Seeking Alpha: Q1 Results Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Management hosted an earnings call and published the slide deck/transcript — useful for assessing segment dynamics (industrial gases, projects) but no new strategic shifts announced. Seeking Alpha: Q1 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: FY 2026 guidance set to $17.60–$17.90 has a midpoint slightly below the current consensus (~17.83), which could be viewed as a modest disappointment if investors expected an upward revision. Zacks: What Key Metrics Say

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on LIN. Seaport Research Partners increased their price target on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Linde from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $455.00 to $525.00 in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Mizuho set a $525.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Linde from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $527.80.

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.