Peoples Financial Services CORP. Sells 1,162 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Peoples Financial Services CORP. decreased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,935 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,162 shares during the quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 31.5% in the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,759,722 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,583,417,000 after buying an additional 2,096,568 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,096,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $913,154,000 after buying an additional 43,695 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 159.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,725,762 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $508,962,000 after buying an additional 1,059,970 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 110.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,441,752 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $425,202,000 after purchasing an additional 756,780 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,307,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $385,698,000 after purchasing an additional 19,237 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on APD. Citigroup increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Mizuho increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $335.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $397,344.42. Following the sale, the vice president owned 8,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,539,612.68. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $266.74 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $59.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.82. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.69 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $289.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $282.40.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 12.86%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.20 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.900-12.100 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 3.270-3.470 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.02%.

About Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India, and internationally. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals.