Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Increases Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas increased its Air Products and Chemicals stake by 70.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 55,110 additional shares to bring its total to 133,612 shares worth about $33.0 million.
• Air Products and Chemicals reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.20 versus $3.06 expected and revenue of $3.17 billion versus $3.07 billion expected. The company also raised guidance for FY 2026 and Q3 2026.
• Analysts remain generally positive on APD, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $323.12. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.81 per share, yielding about 2.5% annually.

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 70.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,612 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 55,110 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals accounts for 1.7% of Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas' investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas owned about 0.06% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $33,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 642 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 756 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 1,085 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,239 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $313.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $323.12.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.88% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.3%

APD opened at $285.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $294.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $274.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.77. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $229.11 and a 12 month high of $307.96.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.07 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 16.91%.Air Products and Chemicals's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is currently 76.61%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.