St. James Investment Company LLC Purchases New Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

St. James Investment Company LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 35,641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,053,000. Air Products and Chemicals makes up about 1.6% of St. James Investment Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 46.7% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 833.3% in the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 112 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $354.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $325.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of APD stock opened at $254.81 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $280.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $279.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.69 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.66, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.83.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $397,344.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,686 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.