Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 540,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 25,412 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.24% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $156,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in APD. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position 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 worth $121,909,000 after buying an additional 23,760 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 4,319 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in 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 worth $14,197,000 after purchasing an additional 5,909 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 135,947 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,582,000 after purchasing an additional 6,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 137,875 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,426,000 after purchasing an additional 4,699 shares in 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 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 14,212 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $344.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $350.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $324.82.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $295.43 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $229.11 and a 52 week high of $314.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $290.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $281.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.14. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be given a $1.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 76.61%.

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.