Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD – Free Report) by 88.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,286 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 62,878 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of APD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% during 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 last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 44.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Dodge & Cox raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.1% during 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 last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
APD has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho set a $345.00 price objective on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $338.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.12.
Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.5%
Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $277.98 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $229.11 and a fifty-two week high of $307.96. The firm has a market cap of $61.90 billion, a PE ratio of 29.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average is $292.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.24. 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 (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 for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.
Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.81 per share. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.61%.
Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals
In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total transaction of $824,404.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,212 shares in the company, valued at $4,317,037.12. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
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.
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