Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Stock Has Average Target Price of $553.05

Shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-one have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $553.05.

Several research analysts recently commented on LIN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Linde from $549.00 to $568.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Evercore raised their price objective on Linde from $515.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Linde from $532.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $580.00 price objective on Linde and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Linde from $574.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $526.55 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $241.73 billion, a PE ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $488.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $495.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Linde has a twelve month low of $387.78 and a twelve month high of $548.20.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $9.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.16 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.34% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.21 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Linde will post 17.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 3rd. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.91, for a total value of $4,851,808.50. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,487,629.58. This represents a 29.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Matthew White sold 86,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $521.21, for a total transaction of $45,258,227.93. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 50,733 shares in the company, valued at $26,442,546.93. This trade represents a 63.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Linde during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 96.6% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 57 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 74.2% in the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 54 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 1,450.0% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

About Linde

Linde plc is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It produces and supplies atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium and specialty gases. The company also designs and builds equipment and facilities used to produce and process gases. Linde serves customers across industries including healthcare, manufacturing, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics and energy. Its operations span the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific.