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

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $540.00.

LIN has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $560.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Mizuho set a $525.00 price target on Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Seaport Research Partners increased their price target on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Linde from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $517.58 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $499.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $462.47. Linde has a 12 month low of $387.78 and a 12 month high of $521.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.37, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The business had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Linde will post 17.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.50%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 27,341 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,658,000 after buying an additional 2,234 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,243,000. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lifted its holdings in Linde by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 236,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $112,198,000 after buying an additional 73,850 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings 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, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Linde by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 967,516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $459,570,000 after buying an additional 24,624 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.