River Road Asset Management LLC Makes New $10.64 Million Investment in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

River Road Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 43,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,643,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,304,678 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,509,702,000 after acquiring an additional 303,944 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,792,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,160,023,000 after acquiring an additional 3,922,567 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,904,537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,940,665,000 after purchasing an additional 137,595 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,911,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,448,340,000 after purchasing an additional 352,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dodge & Cox grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 9,236,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,281,627,000 after purchasing an additional 231,718 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on APD shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD opened at $280.05 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $291.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $277.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.74. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $229.11 and a 52 week high of $307.96. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 16.91%.The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be paid a $1.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.61%.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.