Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Stock: Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stake

Key Points

• Birch Hill Investment Advisors increased its Air Products and Chemicals stake by 81.9% in the third quarter, owning 16,714 shares valued at approximately $4.6 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 81.66% of APD’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $333.88, compared with the stock’s reported opening price of $299.19.
• Air Products exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $3.47 versus the $3.34 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 4.6% year over year to $3.16 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.81 per share, representing a 2.4% annualized yield.

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 81.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,714 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,523 shares during the quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $4,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Forbes J M & Co. LLP grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,827.8% during the third quarter. Forbes J M & Co. LLP now owns 59,183 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $16,124,000 after buying an additional 56,113 shares in the last quarter. Align Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 93.1% during the third quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 6,546 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,801,000 after acquiring an additional 3,156 shares during the period. CWS Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 103.5% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 6,926 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,905,000 after purchasing an additional 3,522 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $373.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a "sector weight" rating for the company. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $336.00 to $305.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $320.00 target price on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $333.88.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.9%

APD stock opened at $299.19 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $229.11 and a one year high of $314.87. The stock has a market cap of $66.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,359.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $293.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $293.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.13. Air Products and Chemicals had a positive return on equity of 16.87% and a negative net margin of 0.38%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.09 earnings per share. 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.46 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.81 per share. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is -3,290.91%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc is a global industrial gas and related equipment company serving customers in industries such as refining, chemicals, manufacturing, metals, electronics, food and beverage, healthcare, and energy. The company supplies atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, specialty gases and other industrial gases.

Air Products produces and distributes gases through pipelines, on-site facilities, bulk deliveries and packaged-gas systems.

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