Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $4.52 Million Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 20.5%, selling 3,955 shares, and now owns 15,341 shares valued at $4.52 million.
• Air Products and Chemicals reported an EPS of $3.09 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenues reaching $3.02 billion, up 1.2% from the previous year.
• Investors can expect a dividend payment of $1.79 per share scheduled for November 10th, with an annualized yield of 2.4% despite a payout ratio of over 103%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 20.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,341 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,955 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $4,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter worth $25,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased 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 buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased 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 buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of Air Products and Chemicals 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Mizuho raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 target price on the stock. One equities 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $335.07.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:APD traded down $0.82 during trading on Friday, hitting $294.20. 510,794 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 793,004. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.69 and a 52 week 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. The company has a market cap of $65.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $290.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $285.76.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.20 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals'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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

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

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.