State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. Sells 145,457 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. reduced its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2%, now owning about 12 million shares, which represents 3.3% of its overall portfolio.
• Air Products and Chemicals reported earnings of $3.09 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and had a revenue of $3.02 billion.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $1.79 on November 10th, with an annualized yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 103.02%.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. reduced its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,091,878 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 145,457 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals makes up approximately 3.3% of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. owned approximately 5.43% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $3,566,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,574,670,000 after buying an additional 3,062,157 shares during the period. Mantle Ridge LP purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at $1,191,344,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,583,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,039,259,000 after acquiring an additional 156,419 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,397,210 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $695,287,000 after acquiring an additional 34,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 159.2% during the 1st 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on APD. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $335.07.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APD traded up $2.1630 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $292.3830. The company had a trading volume of 534,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 932,470. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.69 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $288.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.52. 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 has a market cap of $65.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.07, a P/E/G ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 0.81.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.20 earnings per share. 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. On average, analysts forecast 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 company also recently disclosed 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. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.02%.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the company'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 value of $397,344.42. Following the sale, the vice president owned 8,686 shares in the company, valued at $2,539,612.68. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company 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.