Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $530.84 and last traded at $530.7440, with a volume of 394420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $518.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LIN. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Linde in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Seaport Research Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. 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. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $543.27.

Linde Stock Performance

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 has a market capitalization of $247.68 billion, a PE ratio of 35.58, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $508.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $481.55.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $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. Research analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Linde by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,610,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,245,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275,477 shares during the last quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC grew its position in Linde by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 27,341 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,658,000 after buying an additional 2,234 shares during the last quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd increased its stake in Linde by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 236,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $112,198,000 after buying an additional 73,850 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in Linde by 143.4% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 15,044 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,415,000 after buying an additional 8,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its position in Linde by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 83,262 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,493,000 after buying an additional 2,408 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.