Legal & General Group Plc Reduces Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Posted by Brenda Bartman on May 27th, 2026

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD – Free Report) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,121,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 9,036 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $277,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,304,678 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,509,702,000 after purchasing an additional 303,944 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,766,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,209,068,000 after purchasing an additional 272,197 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,559,492 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,607,065,000 after purchasing an additional 106,578 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 9,004,892 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,455,814,000 after purchasing an additional 183,492 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,870,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,419,029,000 after purchasing an additional 609,489 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on APD. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho set a $345.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.12.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $289.52 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $229.11 and a 1 year high of $307.96. The stock has a market cap of $64.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $294.40 and a 200 day moving average of $274.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.14. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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, sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $1.81 per share. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.19%.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total transaction of $824,404.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,317,037.12. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.