FY2027 EPS Estimates for Linde Boosted by Erste Group Bank

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) – Equities research analysts at Erste Group Bank lifted their FY2027 earnings estimates for shares of Linde in a report released on Thursday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $19.48 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $19.45. Erste Group Bank currently has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Linde’s current full-year earnings is $16.54 per share.

LIN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Mizuho set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.20.

Linde Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $494.59 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $485.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $452.06. The firm has a market cap of $229.19 billion, a PE ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.78. Linde has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $510.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.97 EPS. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Linde

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $95,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Linde by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 325,158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $138,645,000 after buying an additional 59,154 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Linde by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 3,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,632,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares during the period. Winthrop Partners WNY LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $264,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total transaction of $2,094,802.03. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde’s payout ratio is 43.87%.

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.