Ridge Lp Mantle Sells 70,175 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Stock

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Director Ridge Lp Mantle sold 70,175 shares of Air Products and Chemicals 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $279.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.33 billion, a PE ratio of -185.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.87. 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 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 moving average price is $259.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.66.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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%.Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.86 earnings per share. 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 expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be given a $1.81 dividend. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -474.17%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 10,493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,592,000 after acquiring an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $395,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 42.4% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,957,000 after purchasing an additional 7,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on APD shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $282.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Bank of America raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $275.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $272.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.