1,956 Shares in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Bought by Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc.

Key Points

• The Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. invested approximately $577,000 in Air Products and Chemicals, acquiring 1,956 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Air Products and Chemicals, with UBS Group increasing their target from $328 to $344 and Wells Fargo upgrading it from $320 to $345.
• Air Products and Chemicals announced a quarterly dividend of $1.79, with an annual yield of 2.4%, despite a payout ratio of over 100%.

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,956 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $577,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of APD. Mantle Ridge LP acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth about $1,191,344,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,574,670,000 after buying an additional 3,062,157 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 31.5% in the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,759,722 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,583,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,568 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 31,752.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,249,871 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $368,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 159.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,725,762 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $508,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,970 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.4%

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $1.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $290.02. The company had a trading volume of 576,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,265,011. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $291.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.68. 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 market capitalization of $64.54 billion, a PE ratio of 41.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.20 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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 anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on APD shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 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 issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $335.07.

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.