Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Shares Sold by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec reduced its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 63.0%, holding 25,534 shares valued at $7.53 million after selling 43,567 shares.
• Recent analysts' reports have raised price targets for Air Products, with Wells Fargo increasing its target from $320 to $345, while UBS lifted theirs from $328 to $344.
• Air Products has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.79 per share, scheduled for payment on November 10th, representing an annualized dividend of $7.16 and a yield of 2.4%.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lowered its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 63.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,534 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 43,567 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $7,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Citizens National Bank Trust Department grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 833.3% in the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 112 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 525.9% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3,560.0% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 183 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:APD traded down $1.99 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $292.12. The stock had a trading volume of 868,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 750,227. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $291.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $285.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $243.69 and a one year high of $341.14. The company has a market capitalization of $65.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.03, a PEG ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is 103.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. 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 objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $335.07.

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.