Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Upgraded to Buy at TD Cowen

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) was upgraded by TD Cowen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $515.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $480.00. TD Cowen’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 20.53% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup dropped their price target on 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.75.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $427.29 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $203.46 billion, a PE ratio of 32.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $438.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $453.08. Linde has a 1 year low of $396.07 and a 1 year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. Linde’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.63 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Linde will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total value of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,973,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,217,197,000 after purchasing an additional 154,792 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Linde by 0.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,449,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,513,551,000 after purchasing an additional 15,187 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 372.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,288,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,567,958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,592,682 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Linde by 7.6% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,112,160 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,365,647,000 after buying an additional 218,746 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,015,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,438,154,000 after buying an additional 50,882 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.