Melissa Schaeffer Sells 2,714 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Stock

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) CFO Melissa Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 14,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,317,037.12. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:APD traded down $4.18 during trading on Monday, reaching $296.89. The stock had a trading volume of 217,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,391,582. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $288.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $269.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $66.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.42, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.77. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $229.11 and a fifty-two week high of $307.29.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be paid a $1.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is -479.47%.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $1,063,906,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 44.2% during the fourth 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 period. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the second quarter valued at $607,601,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 70.2% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,694,659 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $665,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111,378 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $281,258,000 after acquiring an additional 892,793 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on APD. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup upped 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 note on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $325.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.24.

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.