Boston Trust Walden Corp Cuts Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Boston Trust Walden Corp decreased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 49.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 95,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 92,496 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $27,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in 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 worth $121,909,000 after buying an additional 23,760 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in 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 worth $215,356,000 after buying an additional 111,317 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 5,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 14,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,317,037.12. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on APD shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $338.00 to $341.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.82.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $313.55 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $290.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $279.91. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $229.11 and a 1 year high of $314.28. The company has a market capitalization of $69.82 billion, a PE ratio of 33.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.73. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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, research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be paid a $1.81 dividend. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 76.61%.

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.