Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. Boosts Stake in Linde PLC $LIN

12 Apr 2026, 10:42 by Kim Johansen · The Markets Daily

Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN – Free Report) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,747 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for approximately 1.4% of Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $14,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBT Bank N A NY raised its position in Linde by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 9,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,751,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. raised its position in Linde by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 97,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,658,000 after purchasing an additional 9,100 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Linde by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,812,000 after acquiring an additional 2,171 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Linde by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,432 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. increased its position in shares of Linde by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 12,896 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,499,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $503.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $487.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $452.74. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $510.65. The company has a market cap of $233.15 billion, a PE ratio of 34.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.78.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.97 earnings per share. The company’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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. 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 was Wednesday, March 11th. Linde’s payout ratio is 43.87%.

Key Headlines Impacting Linde

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $579 and reiterated a Buy rating, implying ~15% upside versus the current share level; this is constructive for longer-term investor sentiment and may support buying interest. Linde Given New $579.00 Price Target at UBS Group
Neutral Sentiment: Research notes on FY2027 earnings expectations were published (analyst estimates can guide modeling and market expectations but no single clear revision was highlighted in the release). Investors should watch if these notes change consensus versus company guidance. Research Analysts Set Expectations for Linde FY2027 Earnings
Neutral Sentiment: Several sports outlets ran stories about South African cricketer George Linde joining an IPL team — unrelated to Linde PLC but likely generating noisy search/mention volume that can confuse retail flows. This has no fundamental impact on the industrial gases & engineering business. George Linde set to replace Wanindu Hasaranga at LSG
Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~27% in March to ~7.08M shares (≈1.5% of shares outstanding) with a days-to-cover near 2.5 — a meaningful increase in bearish positioning that can add downward pressure or increase volatility if shorts scale or cover quickly. No company-specific catalyst was cited for the rise, so this appears driven by positioning/hedging.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total transaction of $4,542,654.75. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. This trade represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LIN shares. Mizuho set a $525.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Linde from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $518.10.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on LIN

Linde Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.