Legal & General Group Plc Sells 9,036 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its Air Products and Chemicals stake by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,036 shares but still holding 1,121,608 shares valued at about $277 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is moderately positive: several firms raised price targets, and the stock now has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $323.12.
• Air Products and Chemicals reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $3.20 versus estimates of $3.06 and revenue of $3.17 billion, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $1.81 per share.

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,121,608 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 9,036 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.50% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $277,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Morningstar Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 16,124 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,983,000 after buying an additional 1,882 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 95.8% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 23,588 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,827,000 after purchasing an additional 11,543 shares during the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at $829,000. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 72,272 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $17,853,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on APD. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $303.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $338.00 to $341.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $360.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $323.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of APD opened at $289.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $294.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $274.27. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $229.11 and a twelve month high of $307.96.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.07 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.000-13.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.250-3.350 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $1.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total transaction of $824,404.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 14,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,317,037.12. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc is a global supplier of industrial gases and related equipment and services, headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company produces and delivers atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as specialty and process gases used across a wide range of industrial applications. Air Products designs, builds and operates gas production facilities, merchant distribution networks and on-site gas systems for customers that require reliable, high-purity gases and integrated supply solutions.

The company's product and service portfolio includes packaged and bulk gas supply, pipeline distribution, on-site generation, gas handling and storage equipment, and engineered systems for gas liquefaction and purification.

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