Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Price Target Raised to $512.00

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) had its price target boosted by Mizuho from $510.00 to $512.00 in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Linde from $395.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Linde from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $429.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Linde from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Linde in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a peer perform rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $464.69.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN traded up $3.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $426.62. 1,485,596 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,225,583. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $455.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $423.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Linde has a 1-year low of $350.60 and a 1-year high of $477.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.68 by $0.07. Linde had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 19.26%. The firm had revenue of $8.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. Linde’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Linde will post 15.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, CFO Matthew J. White sold 51,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.84, for a total transaction of $23,353,139.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 57,634 shares in the company, valued at $26,271,882.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Matthew J. White sold 51,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.84, for a total value of $23,353,139.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,271,882.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.14, for a total value of $6,030,344.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,177,248.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 78,248 shares of company stock valued at $35,811,988. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in Linde by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 13,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,411,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. TFG Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 3.6% during the first quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 3,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Linde by 3.8% in the first quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Mitchell Capital Management Co. boosted its holdings in Linde by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitchell Capital Management Co. now owns 5,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,525,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cohen Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Linde by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $916,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Company Profile

Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South Pacific. It offers atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases; and process gases, such as carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, and acetylene.