RiverFront Investment Group LLC Takes Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

RiverFront Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 1,943 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3,233.3% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised 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 note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $293.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $65.33 billion, a PE ratio of 31.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.77. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $229.11 and a 12 month high of $307.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $293.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $272.26.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be paid a $1.81 dividend. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 76.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total value of $824,404.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,317,037.12. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.88% 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.