Fifth Third Bancorp Reduces Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Fifth Third Bancorp lowered its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 128,174 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,777 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $34,956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Traub Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the second quarter worth $28,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 292.3% in the third quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 228.1% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter valued at $34,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ridge Lp Mantle sold 70,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.21, for a total transaction of $19,944,436.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 93,499 shares in the company, valued at $26,573,350.79. This trade represents a 42.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $313.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $272.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $275.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $295.88.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $279.95 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $260.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $267.44. The firm has a market cap of $62.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -185.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.87. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $229.11 and a 1-year high of $321.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.12. Air Products and Chemicals had a positive return on equity of 15.77% and a negative net margin of 2.73%.The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Air Products and Chemicals has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.100 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 12.850-13.150 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -474.17%.

About Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc is a global supplier of industrial gases and related equipment and services, headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company produces and delivers atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as specialty and process gases used across a wide range of industrial applications. Air Products designs, builds and operates gas production facilities, merchant distribution networks and on-site gas systems for customers that require reliable, high-purity gases and integrated supply solutions.

The company’s product and service portfolio includes packaged and bulk gas supply, pipeline distribution, on-site generation, gas handling and storage equipment, and engineered systems for gas liquefaction and purification.