EP Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.8%, acquiring an additional 954 shares, bringing its total holdings to 14,902 shares valued at $4.4 million as of the last quarter.
• Analysts have recently set new price targets for Air Products and Chemicals stock, with Wells Fargo raising their target from $320 to $345 and Mizuho increasing theirs from $310 to $325, reflecting a general sentiment of optimism.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.79 per share, with a payout ratio of 103.02%, indicating strong commitments to returning capital to shareholders despite the high payout ratio.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,902 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 954 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $4,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 20.9% during the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,603 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Mantle Ridge LP bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $1,191,344,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,238 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 62,981 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $18,267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Croban bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter worth $996,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on 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. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $335.07.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $397,344.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 8,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,539,612.68. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD stock traded down $3.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $285.84. The company had a trading volume of 106,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,251,802. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $291.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $284.74. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $63.61 billion, a PE ratio of 41.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 0.82.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $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. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid 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 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is 103.02%.

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.