Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Shares Acquired by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 32,543 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $8,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position 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 worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $245,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 9.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,104,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,617 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 8,789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,479,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $272.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $255.00 target price on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Mizuho dropped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $295.88.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 4.0%

NYSE APD opened at $279.95 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $229.11 and a 12 month high of $321.47. The company has a market capitalization of $62.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -185.40, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $259.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $267.85. 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 quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.86 earnings per share. The firm’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 research analysts expect 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -474.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, Director Ridge Lp Mantle sold 70,175 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.21, for a total value of $19,944,436.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 93,499 shares in the company, valued at $26,573,350.79. This trade represents a 42.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

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.