Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Shares Bought by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

Key Points

• ZWJ Investment Counsel increased its Air Products and Chemicals stake by 14.2% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 94,545 shares valued at approximately $26.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of APD.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with APD carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $334.71, despite UBS lowering its target to $305 and KeyCorp assigning a sector-weight rating.
• Air Products reported quarterly EPS of $3.47, exceeding estimates of $3.34, while revenue rose 4.6% year over year to $3.16 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.81 per share, representing a 2.5% annualized yield.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 14.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,545 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 11,753 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $26,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of APD. S&CO Inc. acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the second quarter valued at $27,733,000. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,457.1% in the third quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 28,806 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,851,000 after buying an additional 26,956 shares during the last quarter. Park National Corp OH raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 66.7% in the third quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 24,538 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,761,000 after buying an additional 9,817 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 26.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 57,052 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $16,573,000 after buying an additional 12,020 shares during the period. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 7.0% during the second quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 65,322 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $19,151,000 after buying an additional 4,279 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on APD. UBS Group lowered their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $336.00 to $305.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $320.00 price objective on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $373.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Argus increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $316.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a "sector weight" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $334.71.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $292.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -1,329.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.76. The company's fifty day moving average is $293.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $293.21. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $229.11 and a 1 year high of $314.87.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.13. Air Products and Chemicals had a negative net margin of 0.38% and a positive return on equity of 16.87%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.09 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Air Products and Chemicals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.390-13.490 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.550-3.650 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.81 per share. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is currently -3,290.91%.

Air Products and Chemicals Profile

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc is a global industrial gases and related equipment company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company supplies atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as process and specialty gases including hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and syngas.

Air Products serves customers in a range of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, manufacturing, food and beverage, healthcare and energy. Its offerings include gases delivered through pipelines, bulk and packaged distribution, and on-site production systems, along with gas-processing equipment and technologies used in applications such as hydrogen production, natural gas liquefaction and carbon capture.

Founded in 1940, Air Products operates across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and other international markets.

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