Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 202,634 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 729,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 202,634 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals makes up 1.0% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.33% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $198,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 10.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 57,639 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,258,000 after purchasing an additional 5,430 shares in the last quarter. Platform Technology Partners lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 683.0% during the 3rd quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 7,164 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,954,000 after buying an additional 6,249 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 673,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $189,939,000 after buying an additional 46,200 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 52,590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,342,000 after acquiring an additional 2,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,739,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,131,936,000 after acquiring an additional 324,885 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $275.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore dropped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $325.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $295.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Ridge Lp Mantle sold 70,175 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.21, for a total value of $19,944,436.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 93,499 shares in the company, valued at $26,573,350.79. The trade was a 42.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $275.78 on Monday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $229.11 and a one year high of $321.47. The company has a market cap of $61.41 billion, a P/E ratio of -182.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $267.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its 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. Air Products and Chemicals had a negative net margin of 2.73% and a positive return on equity of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.86 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -474.17%.

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.