Bessemer Group Inc. Has $2.84 Million Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,403 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,538 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of APD. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 57,639 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,258,000 after purchasing an additional 5,430 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.1% during the second quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 113,027 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,903,000 after buying an additional 4,492 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 7.4% during the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 673,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $189,939,000 after acquiring an additional 46,200 shares in the last quarter. Platform Technology Partners raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 683.0% in the 3rd quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 7,164 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 6,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,739,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,131,936,000 after acquiring an additional 324,885 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on APD shares. Argus decreased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $317.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $272.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $295.88.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD opened at $283.21 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $63.06 billion, a PE ratio of -187.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.46. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $229.11 and a 52-week high of $321.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $256.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $267.75.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a negative net margin of 2.73% and a positive return on equity of 15.77%. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.86 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.100 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 12.850-13.150 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently -474.17%.

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.