Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Acquires 1,128 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• The Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. by 21.6%, owning a total of 6,342 shares valued at approximately $1.87 million.
• Air Products reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.09, exceeding estimates by 10 cents, and had a net margin of 12.86% with revenues of $3.02 billion.
• The company's latest quarterly dividend of $1.79 will be paid on November 10, with an annualized yield of 2.5%.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 21.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,342 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 1,128 shares during the quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings 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 worth $473,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Mantle Ridge LP acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,191,344,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,238 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 62,981 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $18,267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Croban acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at about $996,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $397,344.42. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,686 shares in the company, valued at $2,539,612.68. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Mizuho boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $335.07.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $1.38 on Friday, hitting $293.14. The stock had a trading volume of 985,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 630,758. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $291.89 and a 200 day moving average of $284.51. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.69 and a twelve 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 capitalization of $65.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.18, a PEG ratio of 6.57 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 12.86%.The company had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business 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 is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.