Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. by 8.8% to a total of $21.98 million, selling 7,197 shares in the first quarter.
• Air Products and Chemicals recently reported earnings of $3.09 EPS for the quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.99, alongside a revenue of $3.02 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.79 per share, with a record date of October 1st, and a payout ratio of 103.02%.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 74,525 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,197 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $21,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 3,062,157 shares during the last quarter. Mantle Ridge LP purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,191,344,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,583,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,039,259,000 after purchasing an additional 156,419 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake 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 valued at $695,287,000 after purchasing an additional 34,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $508,962,000 after buying an additional 1,059,970 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $335.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD traded down $0.4450 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $291.9250. The company had a trading volume of 219,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,299,720. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.99, a PEG ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.69 and a 52-week high of $341.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $288.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $287.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last posted 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. 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 return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 12.86%.Air Products and Chemicals's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last 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 expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors 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 yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.02%.

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.