Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $525.87 and last traded at $521.48, with a volume of 2859027 shares. The stock had previously closed at $523.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $560.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $541.91.

Linde Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $238.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $505.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $474.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.78 billion for 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 prior year, the business earned $3.95 earnings per share. 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 forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.50%.

Institutional Trading of Linde

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $2,752,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Linde by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 19.8% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Linde by 19.3% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 897 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Linde by 3.2% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 5,625 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,639,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

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.