Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Shares Sold by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. cut its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,282 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,487 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $5,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rockland Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 8.2% during the 4th 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. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.1% during the 4th 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 increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 16.4% during the 3rd 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. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 11.5% during the 4th 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 shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,299,299 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $627,065,000 after acquiring an additional 21,479 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on APD shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $338.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.12.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In related 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 14,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,317,037.12. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $282.24 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.74. 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 current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $294.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $275.16.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $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, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $1.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.61%.

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.