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

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the twelve research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $515.20.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LIN. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th.

Linde Stock Down 0.9%

NASDAQ LIN opened at $491.12 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $477.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $451.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $227.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.82. Linde has a one year low of $387.78 and a one year high of $510.65.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The company had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.97 EPS. The firm’s quarterly 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. Research analysts anticipate that Linde will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other Linde news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total value of $2,094,802.03. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,246,750,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 10,454.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,424,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,033,940,000 after buying an additional 2,401,894 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Linde by 42,539.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,321,809 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $56,361,000 after buying an additional 1,318,709 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Linde by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,610,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,245,255,000 after buying an additional 1,275,477 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Linde by 40.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,941,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,680,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130,001 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.