Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $519.6250.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $576.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised shares of Linde from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $500.00 to $535.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total transaction of $3,314,065.62. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. The trade was a 47.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.38, for a total transaction of $23,815,274.42. Following the sale, the director directly owned 480,543 shares in the company, valued at $227,479,445.34. The trade was a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Linde Trading Up 0.5%

LIN opened at $480.08 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $468.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $460.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $225.11 billion, a PE ratio of 34.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.92. Linde has a twelve month low of $408.65 and a twelve month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 19.09%. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Linde will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.67%.

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.