King Luther Capital Management Corp Decreases Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

King Luther Capital Management Corp reduced its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 97,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,837 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $23,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of APD. Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 56,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,058,000 after buying an additional 4,319 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.1% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 23,760 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 16.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 789,659 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $215,356,000 after buying an additional 111,317 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 57,474 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,197,000 after buying an additional 5,909 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% during the third quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,299,299 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $627,065,000 after buying an additional 21,479 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE APD opened at $285.79 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $229.11 and a twelve month high of $307.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.64 billion, a PE ratio of 30.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $294.33 and its 200 day moving average is $274.47.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. The firm’s 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. Research analysts forecast 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 declared 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 is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 76.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,212 shares in the company, valued at $4,317,037.12. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised 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 research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.