Analysts Set Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) PT at $503.11

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $503.11.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LIN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $610,662. This represents a 65.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. raised its position in Linde by 85.2% in the fourth quarter. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Channel Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 7,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in Linde by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 211,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $88,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $625,000. Finally, Signet Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $749,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $454.42 on Thursday. Linde has a 52 week low of $408.65 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $451.87 and its 200-day moving average is $448.04. The firm has a market cap of $213.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.75 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Linde will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.57%.

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.