Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Price Target Raised to $480.00

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) had its target price increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $430.00 to $480.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Linde from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $475.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. HSBC cut their target price on Linde from $458.00 to $452.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $484.18.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $441.86 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Linde has a twelve month low of $361.02 and a twelve month high of $477.71. The company has a fifty day moving average of $440.13 and a 200-day moving average of $440.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The business had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Group LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. First Pacific Financial purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 44.4% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 78 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.