Vancity Investment Management Ltd Takes Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• Vancity Investment Management Ltd has made a new investment of approximately $5.11 million in Air Products and Chemicals, acquiring 17,311 shares of the company during the first quarter.
• Air Products and Chemicals reported earnings per share (EPS) of $3.09 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.99, with a revenue of $3.02 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.79 per share, payable on November 10th, representing an annualized yield of 2.5% with a payout ratio of 103.02%.

Vancity Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 17,311 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $5,105,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of APD. Mantle Ridge LP bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at $1,191,344,000. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,096,568 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,245,947 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,059,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 110.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,441,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $425,202,000 after acquiring an additional 756,780 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,539,612.68. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of 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. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of 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 lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $335.07.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $6.99 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $294.49. 716,381 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 655,355. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $65.54 billion, a PE ratio of 42.37, a PEG ratio of 6.41 and a beta of 0.82. The company's fifty day moving average is $291.81 and its 200-day moving average is $284.78.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $3.20 EPS. 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

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