Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Stock: ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Position

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 14.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 94,545 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 11,753 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $26,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter worth $25,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 318.2% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 92 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 77.6% during the 3rd quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. now owns 103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD opened at $292.42 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $293.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.21. The company has a market capitalization of $65.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,329.18, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.76. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $229.11 and a 1-year high of $314.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a positive return on equity of 16.87% and a negative net margin of 0.38%. Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.09 earnings per share. 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.46 EPS 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, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.81 per share. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is -3,290.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on APD. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $373.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $334.71.

Air Products and Chemicals Profile

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc is a global industrial gases and related equipment company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company supplies atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as process and specialty gases including hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and syngas.

Air Products serves customers in a range of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, manufacturing, food and beverage, healthcare and energy. Its offerings include gases delivered through pipelines, bulk and packaged distribution, and on-site production systems, along with gas-processing equipment and technologies used in applications such as hydrogen production, natural gas liquefaction and carbon capture.

Founded in 1940, Air Products operates across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and other international markets.