Equitable Holdings Inc. Acquires Shares of 4,755 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,755 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,394,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the second quarter valued at $5,370,093,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $1,063,906,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the second quarter valued at about $1,216,976,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake 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 worth $3,160,023,000 after purchasing an additional 3,922,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the second quarter valued at $607,601,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $308.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $68.65 billion, a PE ratio of -1,401.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $229.11 and a 12-month high of $314.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $298.34 and a 200 day moving average of $291.65.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a positive return on equity of 16.87% and a negative net margin of 0.38%.The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.09 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.390-13.490 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.550-3.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $1.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently -3,290.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $373.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $336.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. One investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.76.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.