Phoenix Financial Ltd. Lowers Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lessened its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 19.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,474 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,030 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of APD. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3,233.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth $30,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 1.6%

APD stock opened at $295.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $229.11 and a twelve month high of $307.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $292.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $271.87.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 76.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup increased 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 research report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.12.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total value of $824,404.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

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.