Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Hits New 52-Week High After Strong Earnings

Shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $518.50 and last traded at $519.1970, with a volume of 278545 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $501.14.

The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The company had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.95 EPS. Linde’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Linde’s payout ratio is 43.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $545.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Linde from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seaport Research Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Linde from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $455.00 to $525.00 in a research note on Friday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $527.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total transaction of $3,111,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total transaction of $4,542,654.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. This represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LIN. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 61.0% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 1,389 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $688,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 11.2% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,578 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,714,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766 shares in the last quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 3.3% during the first quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $836,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 3.8% during the first quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 14,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,417,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its stake in Linde by 11.7% during the first quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 51,311 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,438,000 after acquiring an additional 5,395 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $239.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50 day moving average is $496.93 and its 200-day moving average is $456.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

About Linde

Linde (NASDAQ: LIN) is a multinational industrial gases and engineering company that supplies gases, related technologies and services to a wide range of industries. The company traces its current form to the 2018 combination of Germany’s Linde AG and U.S.-based Praxair, creating one of the largest global providers of industrial, specialty and medical gases. Linde’s business model centers on production, processing and distribution of gases as well as the design and construction of the plants and equipment needed to produce them.

Core products and services include atmospheric and process gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon; hydrogen and helium; carbon dioxide; and a portfolio of higher‑value specialty and electronic gases.