California Public Employees Retirement System Acquires 18,623 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 6.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 298,245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,623 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $81,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $279,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 17.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 27,457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,488,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 70.2% in the third quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 3,667,119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,000,097,000 after purchasing an additional 1,512,965 shares during the last quarter. Credit Agricole S A bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,742,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,052,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $299.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of APD opened at $289.39 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $274.08 and its 200 day moving average is $265.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $229.11 and a 12-month high of $301.11. The company has a market capitalization of $64.44 billion, a PE ratio of -191.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.88.

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 positive return on equity of 15.77% and a negative net margin of 2.73%.The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.81 per share. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -474.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, Director Ridge Lp Mantle sold 70,175 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.21, for a total value of $19,944,436.75. Following the sale, the director directly owned 93,499 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,573,350.79. The trade was a 42.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

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.