Linde plc (NYSE:LIN) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Linde plc (NYSE:LIN - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $404.41.

Several equities research analysts have commented on LIN shares. 888 restated a "maintains" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Linde from $382.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Linde from $420.00 to $444.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $400.00 to $420.00 in a research report on Friday, July 28th.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Linde

Linde stock opened at $377.61 on Tuesday. Linde has a one year low of $262.47 and a one year high of $393.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $378.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $361.42. The company has a market cap of $184.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.84.

Linde (NYSE:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.10. Linde had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 17.20%. The business had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.10 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Linde will post 14.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 5th will be given a $1.275 dividend. This represents a $5.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 1st. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.50%.

In other Linde news, VP Sean Durbin sold 1,966 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.46, for a total value of $734,222.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,149 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,043,325.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Linde news, VP Sean Durbin sold 1,966 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.46, for a total transaction of $734,222.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,149 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,043,325.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 39,695 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.62, for a total transaction of $15,545,355.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 369,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,747,059.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 6,500.0% during the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 66 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 51.9% during the first quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 82 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Manitou Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 80.44% of the company's stock.

Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

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