Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Dividend Announcement

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $504.49 and last traded at $504.00, with a volume of 2761669 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $498.19.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 11th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 41.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $455.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.20.

Linde Stock Down 1.9%

The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $452.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $449.36. The company has a market capitalization of $232.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.84.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.97 EPS. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total transaction of $4,542,654.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,636,202.10. This trade represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Linde during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management raised its position in shares of Linde by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 66 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 195.2% in the third quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors 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.