Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Shares Acquired by First Hawaiian Bank

Key Points

• First Hawaiian Bank increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 16.8% during the 1st quarter, owning nearly $2.9 million worth of shares.
• Several hedge funds, including Dodge & Cox and GAMMA Investing LLC, significantly boosted their positions in Air Products and Chemicals, with increases of 31.5% and 31,752.0% respectively.
• A recent earnings report showed Air Products and Chemicals beat estimates with a profit of $3.09 EPS and revenue of $3.02 billion, leading analysts to predict a strong future performance.

First Hawaiian Bank lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 16.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,758 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Dodge & Cox increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,759,722 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,583,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,568 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 31,752.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,249,871 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $368,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245,947 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 159.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,725,762 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $508,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,970 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 110.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,441,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $425,202,000 after purchasing an additional 756,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $105,006,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on APD. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price target for the company. Finally, Argus upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $335.07.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD opened at $293.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.18, a P/E/G ratio of 6.57 and a beta of 0.82. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.69 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $291.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $284.51.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 12.86%.The company's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.20 EPS. 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. Equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $397,344.42. Following the transaction, the vice president directly 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 this link. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.

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