Seaport Res Ptn Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates for Linde

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn boosted their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Linde in a research note issued on Monday, April 21st. Seaport Res Ptn analyst M. Harrison now expects that the basic materials company will earn $3.96 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $3.92. The consensus estimate for Linde's current full-year earnings is $16.54 per share.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%.

LIN has been the subject of several other reports. Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $498.00.

Linde Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of LIN opened at $454.61 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $455.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $450.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde has a 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year high of $487.49.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. This is an increase from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde's payout ratio is 44.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Linde

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

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.

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