Osterweis Capital Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• Osterweis Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 11.7%, bringing its ownership to 106,193 shares valued at $31.3 million as per the latest SEC filing.
• Air Products and Chemicals recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.09, surpassing analysts' estimates of $2.99, with a revenue of $3.02 billion.
• The stock has received multiple ratings from analysts, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $335.07.

Osterweis Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 106,193 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 14,114 shares during the quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $31,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of APD. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $715,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 20.9% in the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,603 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Mantle Ridge LP purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,191,344,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,238 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 62,981 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $18,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 target price for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $335.07.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $290.0110 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $287.95 and a 200 day moving average of $287.49. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $64.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.43 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.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 12.86%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.20 EPS. 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is presently 103.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president owned 8,686 shares in the company, valued at $2,539,612.68. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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