Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Buys 419 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,797 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 31.5% in the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,759,722 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,583,417,000 after buying an additional 2,096,568 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 159.2% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,725,762 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $508,962,000 after buying an additional 1,059,970 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 110.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,441,752 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $425,202,000 after buying an additional 756,780 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 251.4% in the 1st quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 311,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $91,917,000 after buying an additional 222,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at $42,661,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of APD opened at $257.28 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.69 and a 52 week high of $341.14. The firm has a market cap of $57.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $284.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $280.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.10. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.20 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Air Products and Chemicals has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.900-12.100 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 3.270-3.470 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on APD shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $354.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $325.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $330.00.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $397,344.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 8,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,539,612.68. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Profile

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India, and internationally. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals.