Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $501.82.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Insider Activity at Linde

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 value of $2,020,301.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its stake in Linde by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $439.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $435.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $453.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Linde has a 12 month low of $396.07 and a 12 month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Linde will post 15.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.