Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Receives $490.75 Average PT from Analysts

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $490.75.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LIN shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $448.57 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $469.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $453.00. Linde has a 52 week low of $396.07 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The stock has a market cap of $213.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total value of $4,639,068.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 17,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,136,996. This trade represents a 36.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the first quarter worth about $1,226,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Linde by 3.6% during the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,345,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 20.7% during the first quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 6.0% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 28,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 7.0% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,495 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,087,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.