Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 78,272 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its stake in Linde PLC by 78,272 shares (a 1.5% reduction) to 5,115,711 shares, representing about 0.7% of its portfolio and ~1.10% of Linde valued at $2.18 billion.
• Linde beat Q results with $4.20 EPS (vs. $4.18) and $8.76B revenue, issued Q1 2026 guidance of 4.200–4.300 EPS and FY2026 guidance of 17.400–17.900 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.60 ( $6.40 annual, ~1.3% yield).
• Analyst sentiment is largely positive — Linde holds an average "Buy" rating with an average price target of $518.10, and several firms have raised targets (UBS to $579), signaling constructive investor outlook.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,115,711 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 78,272 shares during the period. Linde accounts for about 0.7% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.10% of Linde worth $2,181,288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth $2,752,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 19.8% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Linde by 19.3% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 897 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 3.2% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 5,625 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,639,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LIN shares. Citigroup raised their price target on Linde from $540.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho set a $525.00 price target on Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Linde from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $455.00 to $525.00 in a report on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $530.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $518.10.

Linde Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $503.15 on Friday. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $387.78 and a 1-year high of $510.65. The business's 50-day moving average price is $487.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $452.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.78.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.97 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.87%.

More Linde News

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $579 and reiterated a Buy rating, implying ~15% upside versus the current share level; this is constructive for longer-term investor sentiment and may support buying interest. Linde Given New $579.00 Price Target at UBS Group
• Neutral Sentiment: Research notes on FY2027 earnings expectations were published (analyst estimates can guide modeling and market expectations but no single clear revision was highlighted in the release). Investors should watch if these notes change consensus versus company guidance. Research Analysts Set Expectations for Linde FY2027 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Several sports outlets ran stories about South African cricketer George Linde joining an IPL team — unrelated to Linde PLC but likely generating noisy search/mention volume that can confuse retail flows. This has no fundamental impact on the industrial gases & engineering business. George Linde set to replace Wanindu Hasaranga at LSG
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~27% in March to ~7.08M shares (≈1.5% of shares outstanding) with a days-to-cover near 2.5 — a meaningful increase in bearish positioning that can add downward pressure or increase volatility if shorts scale or cover quickly. No company-specific catalyst was cited for the rise, so this appears driven by positioning/hedging.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.

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