Barclays PLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Barclays PLC reduced its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 30.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 551,663 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 237,996 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $136,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,304,678 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,509,702,000 after acquiring an additional 303,944 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,792,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,160,023,000 after purchasing an additional 3,922,567 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,904,537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,940,665,000 after purchasing an additional 137,595 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,911,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,448,340,000 after purchasing an additional 352,012 shares during the period. Finally, Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 9,236,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,281,627,000 after purchasing an additional 231,718 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on APD. Bank of America increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho set a $345.00 price target on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $282.94 on Tuesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $229.11 and a one year high of $307.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $292.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $276.58. The company has a market cap of $63.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.74.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.14. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 16.91%.The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Air Products and Chemicals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.250-3.350 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued a $1.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total value of $824,404.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 14,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,317,037.12. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

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.