Seaport Res Ptn Weighs in on Linde plc's Q2 2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:LIN)

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) - Analysts at Seaport Res Ptn dropped their Q2 2024 earnings estimates for Linde in a research report issued on Wednesday, April 17th. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now anticipates that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $3.87 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $3.88. Seaport Res Ptn currently has a "Neutral" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Linde's current full-year earnings is $15.58 per share. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Linde's Q4 2024 earnings at $3.97 EPS.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.10. Linde had a net margin of 18.87% and a return on equity of 17.06%. The firm had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. Linde's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Linde from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group cut shares of Linde from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $482.00 to $510.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Mizuho raised Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $510.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup lowered Linde from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $475.00 to $500.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $456.79.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ LIN traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $446.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,070,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,256,902. The stock has a market cap of $214.99 billion, a PE ratio of 35.43, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.93. Linde has a fifty-two week low of $350.60 and a fifty-two week high of $477.71. The company's 50-day moving average is $453.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $417.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 122.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 69 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 44.4% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 78 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.14, for a total value of $6,030,344.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,920 shares in the company, valued at $3,177,248.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.14, for a total value of $6,030,344.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,177,248.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Oliver Pfann sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.61, for a total value of $124,383.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 78,248 shares of company stock valued at $35,811,988 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Linde's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.13%.

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.