Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $2.47 Billion Stake in Linde PLC $LIN

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,193,983 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,381,604 shares during the period. Linde makes up approximately 0.8% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.11% of Linde worth $2,467,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its stake in Linde by 195.2% in the 3rd quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in Linde by 87.8% in the 3rd quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 77 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in Linde in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $438.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $204.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s 50-day moving average is $420.12 and its 200-day moving average is $449.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $486.38.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.62 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 21.17%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.94 EPS. Linde has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.350-16.450 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 4.100-4.200 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 3rd. Linde’s payout ratio is 40.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on LIN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $516.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Linde from $475.00 to $455.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Linde from $535.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $499.25.

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.