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

Shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $515.20.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Linde from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $455.00 to $525.00 in a research note on Friday, March 13th.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $491.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $227.58 billion, a PE ratio of 33.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.82. Linde has a 12 month low of $387.78 and a 12 month high of $510.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $477.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $451.23.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.97 EPS. 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. Equities research analysts predict that Linde will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. 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 yield of 1.3%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. The trade was a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Triumph Capital Management increased its stake in Linde by 69.2% during the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 66 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 195.2% during the third quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

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.