Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Sets New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $504.49 and last traded at $504.00, with a volume of 2761669 shares. The stock had previously closed at $498.19.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a $1.60 dividend. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 41.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LIN. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Linde in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $455.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, DZ Bank lowered shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $508.20.

Linde Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $451.10 and its 200-day moving average is $449.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $237.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.84, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $8.76 billion during 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%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total transaction of $4,542,654.75. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. This represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Sit Investment Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Linde by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 45,548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $19,421,000 after buying an additional 7,025 shares in the last quarter. Tempo Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth $254,000. Mariner Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $85,278,000. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $174,000. Finally, Ketron Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $341,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.