Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp has reduced its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 9.4%, holding now 132,951 shares worth approximately $37.5 million.
• Analysts have raised target prices for Air Products and Chemicals, with Wells Fargo increasing it from $320 to $345, indicating a strong sentiment towards the stock, which has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company recently reported Q2 earnings of $3.09 per share, surpassing estimates, while its quarterly revenue increased to $3.02 billion, up 1.2% from the previous year.

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 9.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,951 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 13,797 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned about 0.06% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $37,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 31.5% in the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,759,722 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,583,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096,568 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,096,277 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $913,154,000 after purchasing an additional 43,695 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 159.2% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,725,762 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $508,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,970 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 756,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,307,807 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $385,698,000 after buying an additional 19,237 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on APD shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 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. UBS Group upped 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $335.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $397,344.42. Following the sale, the vice president 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD opened at $271.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.13, a PEG ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.82. The business's 50 day moving average is $291.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $283.03. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.69 and a 12-month high of $341.14. 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 (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $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. Research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.02%.

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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