Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the ten analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $501.00.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Linde from $535.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Mizuho set a $495.00 price objective on Linde in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, CICC Research assumed coverage on Linde in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 target price for the company.

Linde Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $425.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $421.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $453.39. Linde has a 1-year low of $387.78 and a 1-year high of $486.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.85.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.03. Linde had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 21.17%.The company had revenue of $8.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.94 earnings per share. Linde’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.350-16.450 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 4.100-4.200 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Linde will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 40.19%.

Institutional Trading of Linde

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,638,847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,943,654,000 after acquiring an additional 292,492 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Linde by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,319,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,176,828,000 after purchasing an additional 172,162 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Linde by 5.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,600,297 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,470,284,000 after purchasing an additional 453,108 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Linde by 0.9% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,329,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,431,639,000 after purchasing an additional 83,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the second quarter worth $3,098,772,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

About Linde

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.