Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Price Target Lowered to $480.00 at Citigroup

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) had its target price decreased by Citigroup from $490.00 to $480.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LIN. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.75.

Linde Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ LIN opened at $422.27 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. Linde has a one year low of $396.07 and a one year high of $487.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $459.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $455.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.07 billion, a PE ratio of 32.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.93.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Linde will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,260,958.10. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in shares of Linde by 133.3% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

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.