Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Price Target Raised to $504.00 at UBS Group

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) had its price objective raised by UBS Group from $485.00 to $504.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company's stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Argus upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Linde in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup upgraded Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $500.00 to $535.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $518.80.

Linde Stock Performance

Linde stock traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $470.35. 1,603,803 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,973,973. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.40 billion, a PE ratio of 34.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.96. Linde has a fifty-two week low of $408.65 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $462.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $452.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.24 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.95% and a net margin of 20.02%. Linde's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.75 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Linde will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Linde's payout ratio is presently 43.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total value of $908,138.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. The trade was a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of Linde stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,720,279.42. The trade was a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LIN. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Linde during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew 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. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake in Linde by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Linde

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.