Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Shares Sold by Howe & Rusling Inc.

Howe & Rusling Inc. cut its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,702 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $4,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rockland Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 56,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,058,000 after buying an additional 4,319 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 486,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $121,909,000 after buying an additional 23,760 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 16.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 789,659 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $215,356,000 after buying an additional 111,317 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 57,474 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,197,000 after buying an additional 5,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% during the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,299,299 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $627,065,000 after buying an additional 21,479 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total value 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 represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of APD opened at $280.24 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $229.11 and a 12-month high of $307.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $292.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $276.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.74.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be given a $1.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on APD. Berenberg Bank set a $350.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.12.

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.