Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the twelve research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $508.20.

LIN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $530.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Erste Group Bank raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. CICC Research assumed coverage on Linde in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Linde from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the company’s 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 owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. This represents a 29.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in Linde in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. YANKCOM Partnership grew its position in Linde by 195.2% in the third quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Linde during the third quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $501.68 on Wednesday. Linde has a 1-year low of $387.78 and a 1-year high of $510.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $457.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $449.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.97 earnings per share. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Linde will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

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

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.