Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Shares Bought by Mather Group LLC.

Key Points

• Mather Group LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) by 11.5% in Q4, buying an additional 5,909 shares to hold 57,474 shares worth $14.197 million.
• Major institutions also made big moves—Norges Bank and Viking Global initiated positions of about $1.02 billion and $607.6 million respectively—and overall 81.66% of the stock is held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Air Products beat quarterly EPS estimates ($3.16 vs. $3.04), set Q2 2026 guidance of $2.95–$3.10 and FY2026 guidance of $12.85–$13.15, and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.81 ($7.24 annualized, up from $1.79).

Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,474 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 5,909 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.'s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $14,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,020,081,000. Viking Global Investors LP purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $607,601,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 644.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,031,306 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $281,258,000 after buying an additional 892,793 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,616,305 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,258,678,000 after buying an additional 821,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 7.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,870,013 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,419,029,000 after buying an additional 609,489 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ridge Lp Mantle sold 70,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.21, for a total transaction of $19,944,436.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 93,499 shares in the company, valued at $26,573,350.79. This represents a 42.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE APD opened at $293.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $65.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -194.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.88. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $229.11 and a 12 month high of $301.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $277.51 and a 200-day moving average of $265.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its 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 business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.86 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is presently -474.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on APD shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $282.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $255.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $300.88.

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.

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