Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $484.51 and last traded at $484.11, with a volume of 580761 shares. The stock had previously closed at $480.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on LIN. Citigroup increased their price objective on Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $477.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $484.18.

Linde Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $467.23 and a 200 day moving average of $450.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.30 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 17.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.57 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction of $4,639,068.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,136,996. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SPC Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $212,000. AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC increased its stake in Linde by 2.5% during the third quarter. AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC now owns 5,060 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,413,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 20.5% during the third quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 4,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,322,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co lifted its position in shares of Linde by 284.0% in the 3rd quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Linde by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

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.