Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $530.84 and last traded at $530.7440, with a volume of 394420 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $518.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LIN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $560.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Seaport Research Partners boosted their price target on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings raised Linde from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Linde in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $543.27.

Linde Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $508.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $481.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.72.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The firm had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 42.50%.

Institutional Trading of Linde

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth $3,246,750,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Linde by 10,454.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,424,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,033,940,000 after acquiring an additional 2,401,894 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in Linde by 42,539.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,321,809 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $56,361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318,709 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Linde by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,610,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,245,255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275,477 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Linde by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,941,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,680,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130,001 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Company Profile

Linde (NASDAQ: LIN) is a multinational industrial gases and engineering company that supplies gases, related technologies and services to a wide range of industries. The company traces its current form to the 2018 combination of Germany’s Linde AG and U.S.-based Praxair, creating one of the largest global providers of industrial, specialty and medical gases. Linde’s business model centers on production, processing and distribution of gases as well as the design and construction of the plants and equipment needed to produce them.

Core products and services include atmospheric and process gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon; hydrogen and helium; carbon dioxide; and a portfolio of higher?value specialty and electronic gases.