DAVENPORT & Co LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• Davenport & Co LLC reduced its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.4%, selling 2,078 shares and bringing its total holdings to 59,109 shares valued at approximately $16.67 million.
• Air Products reported earnings of $3.09 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.99, with revenue also surpassing forecasts at $3.02 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.79 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.6%, despite having a dividend payout ratio of over 100%.

DAVENPORT & Co LLC reduced its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,109 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,078 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $16,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth $245,000. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 14.8% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter valued at about $224,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 9.9% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 8,501 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,507,000 after buying an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.1%

APD opened at $271.13 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.34 billion, a PE ratio of 39.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $286.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $281.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.69 and a 52 week high of $341.14.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.10. The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share 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 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 dividend yield of 2.6%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.02%.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were 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. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on APD shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $354.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $335.00 price target on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $330.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

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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