Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $585.00 to $600.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Linde traded as high as $526.75 and last traded at $526.2330, with a volume of 313042 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $515.73.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Seaport Research Partners boosted their price objective on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. 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. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $560.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Linde from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $543.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in Linde by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC now owns 511 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Blalock Williams LLC grew its position in shares of Linde by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Blalock Williams LLC now owns 510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Linde by 0.5% during the first quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 4,159 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,062,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Linde by 10.2% in the second quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $243.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.72. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $507.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $478.03.

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

Linde Dividend Announcement

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

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.