Norges Bank Purchases New Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,306,964 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,063,906,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Rockland Trust Co. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 56,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,058,000 after purchasing an additional 4,319 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 486,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $121,909,000 after purchasing an additional 23,760 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 16.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 789,659 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $215,356,000 after purchasing an additional 111,317 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 57,474 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,197,000 after purchasing an additional 5,909 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% in the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,299,299 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $627,065,000 after purchasing an additional 21,479 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $313.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Mizuho set a $345.00 price objective on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD opened at $278.37 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $61.99 billion, a PE ratio of 29.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $294.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.66. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $229.11 and a 1-year 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.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 16.91%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.2 EPS 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 given a $1.81 dividend. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.61%.

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.