Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 8,921 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 457,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,921 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.21% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $132,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Wealth Services increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 8,804 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,558,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.5% during the first quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,512 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,567 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.7% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,004 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,264,000 after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 22.2% in the first quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 21,506 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,247,000 after purchasing an additional 3,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,063,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total transaction of $824,404.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 14,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,317,037.12. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Mizuho set a $345.00 price objective on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.88.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD opened at $295.31 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $289.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $283.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.76 billion, a PE ratio of 31.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.73. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $229.11 and a 52 week high of $314.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.14. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 16.91%.The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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, analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be paid a $1.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio 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.