Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Sells 4,227 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• Atlantic Union Bankshares cut its Air Products and Chemicals stake by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,227 shares and leaving it with 26,686 shares valued at about $6.59 million.
• Air Products and Chemicals reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.20 versus the $3.06 estimate and revenue of $3.17 billion versus $3.07 billion expected; revenue rose 8.8% year over year.
• The company also raised its dividend to $1.81 per quarter, implying a 2.4% yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $323.12.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lessened its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,686 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,227 shares during the quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $6,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Community Bank N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 12,922 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,192,000 after acquiring an additional 2,197 shares in the last quarter. Englebert Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $1,038,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 115.3% during the 4th quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC now owns 1,481 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,828 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Long Road Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Long Road Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,660 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,621,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total value of $824,404.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 14,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,317,037.12. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $323.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.9%

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $306.36 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $291.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $271.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $68.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.77. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $229.11 and a 12 month high of $307.96.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.07 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 16.91%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.250-3.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.2 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, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued a $1.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is 76.61%.

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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