Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment 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 price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $503.11.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. Argus raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total value of $3,314,065.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This represents a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total transaction of $908,138.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 22,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Linde

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LIN. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Linde by 1,160.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Price Performance

LIN traded down $3.51 during trading on Monday, hitting $470.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,678,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,963,499. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $452.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $448.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Linde has a 12 month low of $408.65 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The business had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.75 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Linde will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's payout ratio is 43.57%.

Linde Company Profile

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.