Analysts Set Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Price Target at $501.82

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $501.82.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. Mizuho lifted their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup dropped their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,285 shares of company stock worth $7,423,986. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Linde by 1,160.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN opened at $467.05 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $440.68 and its 200-day moving average is $454.93. The stock has a market cap of $222.39 billion, a PE ratio of 34.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Linde has a twelve month low of $410.69 and a twelve month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. On average, analysts predict that Linde will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Linde’s payout ratio is 44.09%.

About Linde

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.