Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Shares Bought by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 144,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 7,696 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $42,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,304,678 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,509,702,000 after acquiring an additional 303,944 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in 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 valued at $3,160,023,000 after purchasing an additional 3,922,567 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in 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 valued at $2,940,665,000 after purchasing an additional 137,595 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dodge & Cox increased its position in 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 worth $2,281,627,000 after purchasing an additional 231,718 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $277.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.74. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $289.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $277.75. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $229.11 and a 12 month high of $307.96.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during 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%.Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. 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 analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total transaction of $824,404.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 14,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,317,037.12. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank set a $350.00 price target on Air Products and Chemicals and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $338.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, 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 target for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. One 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 MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.12.

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.