Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Rating Increased to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $310.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $280.00.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $255.00 price objective on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $282.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $300.88.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $280.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Air Products and Chemicals has a fifty-two week low of $229.11 and a fifty-two week high of $301.11. The stock has a market cap of $62.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -186.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $275.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $265.87.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a negative net margin of 2.73% and a positive return on equity of 15.77%. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.86 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.100 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 12.850-13.150 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.81 dividend. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -474.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ridge Lp Mantle sold 70,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.21, for a total value of $19,944,436.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 93,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,573,350.79. This represents a 42.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,063,906,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,922,567 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 2nd quarter worth $607,601,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,111,378 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 644.6% during the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.