Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its stake in Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) by 8%, selling 141,269 shares to hold 1,622,309 shares (about 0.73%) valued at $400,752,000 per its latest 13F filing.
• Air Products beat expectations with Q1 EPS of $3.20 (vs. $3.06 est.) and revenue of $3.17B (vs. $3.07B), issued FY2026 EPS guidance of $13.00–$13.25, and has a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $321.76.
• Significant insider selling occurred—CFO Melissa Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares for ~$824,404 and a director sold 70,175 shares for ~$19.94M—while the company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.81 ($7.24 annual, ~2.4% yield).

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,622,309 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 141,269 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.73% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $400,752,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3,233.3% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $360.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $321.76.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total value of $824,404.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,317,037.12. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ridge Lp Mantle sold 70,175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.21, for a total transaction of $19,944,436.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 93,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,573,350.79. This trade represents a 42.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of APD stock opened at $298.29 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $288.71 and a 200-day moving average of $269.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $229.11 and a 12-month high of $307.29. The firm has a market cap of $66.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.14. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued a $1.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.19%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

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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