North Star Asset Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 2,200 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

North Star Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $645,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,370,093,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 44.2% in the fourth 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. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,904,537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,940,665,000 after purchasing an additional 137,595 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,911,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,448,340,000 after purchasing an additional 352,012 shares during the period. Finally, Dodge & Cox lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 9,236,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,281,627,000 after buying an additional 231,718 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on APD shares. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $358.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $320.00 target price on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.76.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $308.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $68.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,401.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $298.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.65. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $229.11 and a 52-week high of $314.87.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a negative net margin of 0.38% and a positive return on equity of 16.87%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.09 EPS. 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, analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently -3,290.91%.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.