Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 89,517 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 5,061 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $22,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in APD. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 670,374 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $165,596,000 after acquiring an additional 65,999 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,631 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 6,416 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Spectrum Strategic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $495,000. Finally, Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 100,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,702,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on APD. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $338.00 to $341.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Berenberg Bank set a $350.00 price target on Air Products and Chemicals and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Mizuho set a $345.00 price target on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD opened at $288.95 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business’s 50 day moving average is $293.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.88. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $229.11 and a 12-month high of $307.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.58, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.77.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm 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. Research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.2 EPS 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 given a dividend of $1.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 76.61%.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 14,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,317,037.12. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.