Skba Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Skba Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 9.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 52,062 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,470 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals accounts for 2.0% of Skba Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Skba Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $14,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of APD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the second quarter worth $1,020,081,000. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $607,601,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 268.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 822,589 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $232,019,000 after buying an additional 599,513 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 13.3% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,794,781 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,070,356,000 after acquiring an additional 444,855 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 43.3% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,432,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $404,172,000 after acquiring an additional 432,770 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, Director Ridge Lp Mantle sold 70,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.21, for a total value of $19,944,436.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 93,499 shares in the company, valued at $26,573,350.79. This represents a 42.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $295.88.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of APD stock opened at $273.02 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $229.11 and a fifty-two week high of $318.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -180.81, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $268.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.46.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Research analysts expect 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.81 dividend. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is -474.17%.

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.