Citigroup Cuts Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Price Target to $480.00

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) had its target price trimmed by Citigroup from $490.00 to $480.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.75.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $424.31 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $202.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $457.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $455.02. Linde has a twelve month low of $396.07 and a twelve month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. Linde’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Linde will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Linde’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in shares of Linde by 133.3% in the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.