Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 6,675 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 6,675 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3,233.3% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total transaction of $824,404.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 14,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,317,037.12. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $306.36 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.22 billion, a PE ratio of 32.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $229.11 and a 12 month high of $307.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $291.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $271.39.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.14. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 16.91%.The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $1.81 dividend. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 76.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Mizuho set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research 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 given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.12.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.