Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twelve analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $508.20.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. CICC Research started coverage on Linde in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 price target for the company. Citigroup raised 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. Mizuho set a $525.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Linde from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. This trade represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Linde

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Linde by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,953,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $19,167,559,000 after acquiring an additional 354,800 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Linde by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,319,583 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,176,828,000 after purchasing an additional 172,162 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,353,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,820,533,000 after purchasing an additional 35,945 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Linde by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,127,594 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,318,325,000 after purchasing an additional 797,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Linde by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,784,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,171,959,000 after purchasing an additional 695,771 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $501.68 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Linde has a twelve month low of $387.78 and a twelve month high of $510.65. The company has a market capitalization of $232.47 billion, a PE ratio of 34.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $457.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $449.65.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.12%.

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.