Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Hits New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $504.49 and last traded at $504.00, with a volume of 2761669 shares changing hands. 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 a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 41.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LIN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on Linde from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $508.20.

Linde Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a market cap of $235.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.54, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $449.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $448.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.64 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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 anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the 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 represents a 29.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LIN. MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $174,000. Ketron Financial bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $341,000. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. boosted its position in shares of Linde by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 739 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. SG Trading Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $960,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Linde by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 75,038 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,995,000 after purchasing an additional 4,734 shares during the period. 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.