Cardinal Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• Cardinal Capital Management increased its stake in Air Products by 3.4% in Q4 to 124,278 shares (an additional 4,045 shares), valued at about $30.7 million (0.06% ownership).
• Q4 results beat expectations: Air Products reported $3.16 EPS versus $3.04 expected and $3.10 billion revenue (up 5.8% YoY), and set FY2026 guidance of EPS 12.85–13.15.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.81 per share (annualized $7.24, ~2.4% yield), with an ex-dividend date of April 1 and payment on May 11.

Cardinal Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,278 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 4,045 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. owned 0.06% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $30,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 292.3% in the third quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 102 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth $30,000. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on APD. Mizuho cut their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $282.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Argus reduced their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $317.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $302.18.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.5%

APD opened at $297.95 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $229.11 and a fifty-two week high of $301.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $283.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $265.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -197.32, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.80.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.12. Air Products and Chemicals had a negative net margin of 2.73% and a positive return on equity of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.86 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Air Products and Chemicals has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.100 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 12.850-13.150 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.81 per share. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.79. 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 Wednesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is presently -479.47%.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, Director Ridge Lp Mantle sold 70,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.21, for a total transaction of $19,944,436.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 93,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,573,350.79. The trade was a 42.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Profile

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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