U S Wealth Group LLC. Lowers Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

U S Wealth Group LLC. decreased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 235 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals accounts for about 1.9% of U S Wealth Group LLC.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. U S Wealth Group LLC.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 20.9% in the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,603 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Mantle Ridge LP acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,191,344,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,238 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 62,981 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $18,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Croban acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at approximately $996,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.1%

APD stock opened at $289.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.69 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The company’s 50 day moving average is $291.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $285.09. The stock has a market cap of $64.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.68, a PEG ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.10. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Air Products and Chemicals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.900-12.100 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 3.270-3.470 EPS. Research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $335.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $397,344.42. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,539,612.68. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Profile

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India, and internationally. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals.