HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 20,272 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 266,873 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 20,272 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $65,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3,233.3% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,317,037.12. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $288.95 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $64.34 billion, a PE ratio of 30.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $293.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.88. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $229.11 and a fifty-two week high of $307.96.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.14. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be given a $1.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on APD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. 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 report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, May 4th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.12.

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.