Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Stock Holdings Increased by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1,362.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,694 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $4,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter valued at $426,000. Laurel Oak Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter worth $230,000. Christine Messmer PC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 30.0% during the first quarter. Christine Messmer PC now owns 5,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 18.6% in the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 8,819 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,562,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% in the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28,228 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,212 shares in the company, valued at $4,317,037.12. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on APD shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $338.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Berenberg Bank set a $350.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Mizuho set a $345.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.7%

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $277.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $229.11 and a fifty-two week high of $307.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $289.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $277.75. The firm has a market cap of $61.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.74.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 16.91%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. 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 forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued 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 yield of 2.6%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.