ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 64,334 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,503 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $15,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in APD. Sage Capital Advisors llc lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 14,930 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,072,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 1,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,239 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 863 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on APD shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $280.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $303.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:APD opened at $296.66 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $229.11 and a 52 week high of $301.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $285.30 and a 200 day moving average of $266.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -196.46, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.80.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.12. Air Products and Chemicals had a negative net margin of 2.73% and a positive return on equity of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.86 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Air Products and Chemicals has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.100 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 12.850-13.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -479.47%.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, Director Ridge Lp Mantle sold 70,175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.21, for a total transaction of $19,944,436.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 93,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,573,350.79. This represents a 42.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

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.