Northern Trust Corp Has $1.04 Billion Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, selling 49,146 shares, lowering its ownership to 3,534,010 shares, worth approximately $1.04 billion.
• Institutional investors now hold 81.66% of Air Products and Chemicals, with recent activity showing multiple firms increasing their stakes.
• Air Products and Chemicals announced a quarterly dividend of $1.79 per share, yielding 2.5%, with a payout ratio of 103.02%.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,534,010 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 49,146 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.59% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $1,042,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 833.3% in the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 112 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 525.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3,560.0% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 183 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 target price for the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $335.07.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.9%

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $5.4990 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $299.0190. The stock had a trading volume of 765,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 930,976. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $288.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $286.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.55 billion, a PE ratio of 43.02, a P/E/G ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.69 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.20 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.02%.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

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

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.