Investment Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Changes for Linde (LIN)

Several analysts have recently updated their ratings and price targets for Linde (NASDAQ: LIN):

• 5/6/2024 – Linde had its price target lowered by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $510.00 to $475.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 5/6/2024 – Linde had its price target lowered by analysts at HSBC Holdings plc from $458.00 to $452.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 5/3/2024 – Linde had its price target raised by analysts at Mizuho from $510.00 to $512.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 4/18/2024 – Linde was upgraded by analysts at Mizuho from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating. They now have a $510.00 price target on the stock.
• 4/11/2024 – Linde had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $480.00 to $540.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 4/10/2024 – Linde was downgraded by analysts at Citigroup Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating. They now have a $500.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $475.00.
• 3/27/2024 – Linde was downgraded by analysts at UBS Group AG from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating. They now have a $510.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $482.00.
• 3/26/2024 – Linde had its price target raised by analysts at Mizuho from $503.00 to $510.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN traded up $2.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $429.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 843,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,192,969. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $350.60 and a 1 year high of $477.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $206.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.34, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $454.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.19.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by $0.07. Linde had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The business had revenue of $8.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be paid a $1.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Sean Durbin sold 5,277 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.39, for a total value of $2,466,417.03. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,809,695.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Linde news, CEO Sanjiv Lamba sold 8,306 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.04, for a total transaction of $3,837,704.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,058,131.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 5,277 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.39, for a total transaction of $2,466,417.03. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,809,695.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 77,948 shares of company stock valued at $35,687,605 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Members Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 3.7% in the first quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 1.3% in the first quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $830,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 44.4% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 78 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 49.0% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, CNB Bank lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 2.9% in the first quarter. CNB Bank now owns 847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.