Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) PT Lowered to $475.00

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $510.00 to $475.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective points to a potential upside of 10.47% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on LIN. Mizuho increased their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $512.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Citigroup cut Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $475.00 to $500.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. 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. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $464.69.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $430.00 on Monday. Linde has a 1 year low of $350.60 and a 1 year high of $477.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $454.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $424.19.

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

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, SVP Oliver Pfann sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.61, for a total transaction of $124,383.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Matthew J. White sold 51,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Oliver Pfann sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.61, for a total transaction of $124,383.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 78,248 shares of company stock valued at $35,811,988. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Group LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Pacific Financial purchased a new stake in Linde during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 122.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 69 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.