Clark & Stuart Inc Lowers Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Clark & Stuart Inc lowered its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 61.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,160 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals accounts for approximately 1.0% of Clark & Stuart Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Clark & Stuart Inc’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 23,760 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.9% in the 4th 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 during the period. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $1,649,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 40,511 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,007,000 after buying an additional 7,485 shares during the period. Finally, Staley Capital Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 108.2% during the fourth quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 144,032 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,579,000 after buying an additional 74,868 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $336.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.76.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD stock opened at $303.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $229.11 and a 1 year high of $314.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $292.50 and a 200 day moving average of $288.85. The company has a market cap of $67.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,379.18, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a positive return on equity of 16.87% and a negative net margin of 0.38%.The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.09 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.390-13.490 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.550-3.650 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.45 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a $1.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently -3,290.91%.

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.