Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Price Target Increased to $480.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on LIN. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Linde from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $475.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $484.18.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded up $2.16 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $445.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,527,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,986,922. Linde has a 1 year low of $361.02 and a 1 year high of $477.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $439.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $440.21. The company has a market capitalization of $214.22 billion, a PE ratio of 34.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.30 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Linde will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 946 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Linde by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,946 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $799,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Linde by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in Linde by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,734,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.