Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Royal Bank Of Canada

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) had its price target lowered by Royal Bank Of Canada from $553.00 to $549.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on LIN. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Linde from $535.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $515.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup cut their price target on Linde from $580.00 to $560.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, DZ Bank reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $547.10.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN opened at $498.43 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.20, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.71. Linde has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $548.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $478.52 and a 200 day moving average of $498.15.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.01. Linde had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 20.09%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.09 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-17.900 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Linde will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Linde by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,344,181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,558,016,000 after acquiring an additional 719,052 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,402,317 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,303,494,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,751 shares during the period. Amundi increased its position in Linde by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,162,409 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,567,796,000 after purchasing an additional 373,012 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Linde by 2.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,740,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,358,712,000 after purchasing an additional 64,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Linde by 28.6% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,624,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $805,475,000 after purchasing an additional 361,664 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Linde News

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays turned bullish on Linde. The firm initiated coverage with an “overweight” rating, adding to recent positive sentiment around Linde’s earnings durability, pricing power and exposure to long-term industrial and technology demand. Barclays initiates coverage of Linde at overweight
• Positive Sentiment: Linde is expanding its carbon-capture business in Sweden. The company plans to build a facility capable of capturing 200,000 tonnes of CO2 annually at a waste-to-energy site, reinforcing its position in industrial decarbonization and potentially expanding its project pipeline. Linde to build 200,000-tonne CO2 capture plant at Swedish waste-to-energy facility
• Positive Sentiment: Linde’s Taiwan affiliate is pursuing hydrogen infrastructure growth. Linde LienHwa is developing hydrogen-as-a-service and refueling solutions, which could create longer-term revenue opportunities as Taiwan increases hydrogen adoption. Linde LienHwa tackles hydrogen transport dilemma with HaaS Interview: Linde LienHwa fuels Taiwan’s hydrogen push
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC remains constructive but lowered its target. Royal Bank of Canada cut its price target from $553 to $549 while retaining an “outperform” rating, suggesting continued confidence but slightly less near-term upside.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is becoming a concern. Commentary that Linde appears fully valued on current earnings could weigh on the stock, particularly given its elevated earnings multiple and the need for continued earnings growth to justify further appreciation. Linde Stock Looks Fully Valued On Current Earnings

About Linde

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It produces and distributes atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases. The company serves customers through packaged gases, bulk deliveries, on-site production and pipeline systems.

Linde’s products and services support a broad range of industries, including healthcare, food and beverage, manufacturing, chemicals, energy, refining, electronics and metals.