Howe & Rusling Inc. Takes $5.67 Million Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Howe & Rusling Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 20,776 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,666,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of APD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,739,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,131,936,000 after purchasing an additional 324,885 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,452,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,666,289,000 after buying an additional 180,056 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.7% during the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,821,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,488,164,000 after buying an additional 61,678 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,434,228 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,814,839,000 after buying an additional 310,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,134,550 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,450,526,000 after buying an additional 27,256 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 3.1%

NYSE APD opened at $286.48 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $255.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $268.14. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $229.11 and a twelve month high of $336.64. The company has a market capitalization of $63.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -189.72, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.87.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a positive return on equity of 15.77% and a negative net margin of 2.73%.The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company 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. Research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on APD. Bank of America raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $282.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $255.00 target price on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Monday, December 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.88.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.