Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Shares Bought by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,696 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned about 0.07% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $42,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $1,063,906,000. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,792,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,160,023,000 after acquiring an additional 3,922,567 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 2nd quarter worth about $607,601,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 70.2% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,694,659 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $665,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 644.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,031,306 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $281,258,000 after purchasing an additional 892,793 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total value of $824,404.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,317,037.12. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of 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 research report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.7%

APD opened at $277.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $229.11 and a 52 week high of $307.96. The business’s 50 day moving average is $289.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.75. The firm has a market cap of $61.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.74.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 16.91%.The company’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. 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. On average, research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.23 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

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

Air Products and Chemicals 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.