MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH Sells 8,358 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH cut its stake in Linde by 37.1% in Q4, selling 8,358 shares and leaving it with 14,200 shares valued at about $6.08 million.
• Linde beat expectations in the quarter with EPS of $4.20 (vs. $4.18 est.) and revenue of $8.76 billion (vs. $8.64B est.), and issued guidance of 4.200–4.300 EPS for Q1 2026 and 17.400–17.900 EPS for FY 2026.
• Dividend and sentiment: Linde raised its quarterly dividend to $1.60 ($6.40 annual, ~1.3% yield) while insiders sold roughly 20,332 shares last quarter; analysts remain largely positive with an average price target of $521.60 and a consensus "Buy" rating.

MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH cut its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 37.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,200 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 8,358 shares during the period. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH's holdings in Linde were worth $6,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Linde by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,319,583 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,176,828,000 after purchasing an additional 172,162 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Linde by 0.9% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,329,728 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,431,639,000 after purchasing an additional 83,236 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Linde by 6.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,287,566 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,036,594,000 after purchasing an additional 242,733 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Linde by 4.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,895,026 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,850,137,000 after purchasing an additional 176,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Linde by 7.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,828,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,343,564,000 after purchasing an additional 204,636 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Down 1.4%

LIN stock opened at $492.23 on Friday. 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 PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $510.65. The company has a 50-day moving average of $491.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $453.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.78.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The company had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.97 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total value of $2,094,802.03. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LIN shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Mizuho set a $525.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Linde from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $455.00 to $525.00 in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, DZ Bank cut 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $521.60.

Linde Profile

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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