Brokers Issue Forecasts for Linde’s Q2 Earnings (NASDAQ:LIN)

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) – Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn upped their Q2 2025 EPS estimates for Linde in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, April 21st. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now anticipates that the basic materials company will earn $4.13 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $4.11. The consensus estimate for Linde’s current full-year earnings is $16.54 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Linde’s Q3 2025 earnings at $4.26 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $4.22 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $16.57 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $18.20 EPS.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus upgraded Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $498.00.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $449.53 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $212.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $454.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $450.65. Linde has a one year low of $408.65 and a one year high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $610,662. This represents a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

About Linde

Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South Pacific. It offers atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases; and process gases, such as carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, and acetylene.