Guggenheim Capital LLC Trims Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• Guggenheim Capital LLC has reduced its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. by 11.8%, now holding 141,445 shares valued at approximately $41.7 million.
• Numerous hedge funds are actively adjusting their positions, with Bank of America and Principal Financial Group significantly increasing their stakes by 129.4% and 159.2% respectively.
• A recent earnings report indicated that Air Products exceeded expectations with earnings per share of $3.09, surpassing the forecast of $2.99, alongside a revenue of $3.02 billion.

Guggenheim Capital LLC decreased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 11.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 141,445 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 18,889 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC owned about 0.06% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $41,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Mantle Ridge LP acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $1,191,344,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,574,670,000 after acquiring an additional 3,062,157 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 31.5% during the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,759,722 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,583,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096,568 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 31,752.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,249,871 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $368,612,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 159.2% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,725,762 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $508,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,970 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on APD shares. UBS Group raised 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. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $335.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.0%

APD opened at $294.16 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.69 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.33, a PEG ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $289.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $286.29.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.20 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's 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.

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