Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $518.80.
A number of research firms have commented on LIN. Citigroup upgraded Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $500.00 to $535.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Linde in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Argus raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on LIN
Linde Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $470.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $464.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $454.60. Linde has a 52 week low of $408.65 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.44 billion, a PE ratio of 34.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.96.
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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.24 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.95% and a net margin of 20.02%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.75 EPS. Analysts predict that Linde will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Linde Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.57%.
Insider Activity
In other 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 completion of the sale, the vice president 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. The trade was a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LIN. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Linde
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Get Free ReportLinde 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.
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