NFJ Investment Group LLC Has $10.25 Million Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group LLC reduced its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, decreasing its holdings by 67.9% to $10.25 million after selling 73,590 shares in the first quarter.
• Air Products and Chemicals reported earnings per share of $3.09, surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.99 and reflecting a revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.79 per share, with an annualized dividend of $7.16, representing a 2.5% dividend yield.

NFJ Investment Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 67.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,743 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 73,590 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $10,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mantle Ridge LP bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $1,191,344,000. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,759,722 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,583,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,568 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $368,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245,947 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,059,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 110.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,441,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $425,202,000 after purchasing an additional 756,780 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. 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. Citigroup boosted 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 boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. One research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $335.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president owned 8,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,539,612.68. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $289.70. The stock had a trading volume of 544,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 711,348. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.69 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The company has a market cap of $64.47 billion, a PE ratio of 41.68, a PEG ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $291.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $284.89.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.20 EPS. The firm'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. On average, equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is 103.02%.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.