Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 2,608 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. cut its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,617 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,608 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $19,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,020,081,000. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $607,601,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 268.7% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 822,589 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $232,019,000 after acquiring an additional 599,513 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 13.3% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,794,781 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,070,356,000 after purchasing an additional 444,855 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 43.3% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,432,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $404,172,000 after purchasing an additional 432,770 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on APD. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $255.00 target price on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, December 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $292.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $247.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -139.08, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $229.11 and a one year high of $341.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $250.92 and a 200 day moving average of $272.42.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.01. Air Products and Chemicals had a positive return on equity of 15.18% and a negative net margin of 3.28%.The business had revenue of $3.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.56 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Air Products and Chemicals has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.100 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 12.850-13.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -402.25%.

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.