Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 137.2%, owning 60,043 shares valued at $17.7 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Air Products and Chemicals recently reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.99, while its revenue was $3.02 billion, surpassing predictions.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.79 per share, reflecting an annualized payout of $7.16 and a yield of 2.4%.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 137.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,043 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 34,734 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $17,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mantle Ridge LP bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at $1,191,344,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,574,670,000 after acquiring an additional 3,062,157 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at $436,636,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 31,752.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,249,871 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $368,612,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 159.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,725,762 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $508,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,970 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Mizuho lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $335.07.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $1.7830 on Tuesday, hitting $289.9230. The company's stock had a trading volume of 629,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,309,268. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.29. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.69 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $287.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $287.47. The company has a market capitalization of $64.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.20 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is presently 103.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.