PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators Acquires New Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 78,354 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,355,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 56,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,058,000 after buying an additional 4,319 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 23,760 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 789,659 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $215,356,000 after purchasing an additional 111,317 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 57,474 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,197,000 after purchasing an additional 5,909 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,299,299 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $627,065,000 after purchasing an additional 21,479 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on APD. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $338.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. UBS Group increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Berenberg Bank set a $350.00 price objective on Air Products and Chemicals and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. 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 equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Products and Chemicals 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 value of $824,404.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,212 shares in the company, valued at $4,317,037.12. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $282.74 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $229.11 and a 12-month high of $307.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $293.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $275.38. 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 (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

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

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.