DAVENPORT & Co LLC Reduces Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

DAVENPORT & Co LLC reduced its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 12,211 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $11,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of APD. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $245,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 114.2% in the second quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 782 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.4% during the second quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,756 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on APD. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $280.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $255.00 price objective on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $270.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $300.88.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $290.17 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $276.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.58. 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 fifty-two week low of $229.11 and a fifty-two week high of $301.11. The company has a market cap of $64.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -192.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.88.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.12. Air Products and Chemicals had a positive return on equity of 15.77% and a negative net margin of 2.73%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.86 EPS. 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 fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is -474.17%.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, Director Ridge Lp Mantle sold 70,175 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was 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. This represents a 42.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.