Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Invests $950,000 in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,269 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $950,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 50.5% in the first quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 216,797 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $62,977,000 after purchasing an additional 72,765 shares in the last quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA now owns 63,655 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $18,491,000 after buying an additional 1,539 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 7.7% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 3,901 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $233,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 84.7% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,679 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total value of $824,404.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,212 shares in the company, valued at $4,317,037.12. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $338.00 to $341.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Berenberg Bank set a $350.00 price objective on Air Products and Chemicals and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $344.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.82.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:APD opened at $295.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $290.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $229.11 and a 1 year high of $314.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $65.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.73.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.14. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Air Products and Chemicals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.250-3.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be given a $1.81 dividend. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.61%.

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.