First Trust Advisors LP Decreases Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 80.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 159,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 663,475 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.07% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $43,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,020,081,000. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $607,601,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,794,781 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,070,356,000 after acquiring an additional 444,855 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in 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 worth $404,172,000 after acquiring an additional 432,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the second 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ridge Lp Mantle sold 70,175 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.21, for a total transaction of $19,944,436.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 93,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,573,350.79. The trade was a 42.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 4.4%

NYSE APD opened at $289.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $64.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -191.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.88. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $229.11 and a 12 month high of $301.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $272.61 and a 200-day moving average of $266.25.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.12. Air Products and Chemicals had a negative net margin of 2.73% and a positive return on equity of 15.77%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.81 dividend. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -474.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on APD shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $313.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Argus cut their price target 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.88.

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.