Woodline Partners LP Raises Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 40.8% in the first quarter, holding 18,796 shares valued at $5.54 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have also modified their positions in APD, with a significant investment from Nuveen Asset Management, raising its holdings by 38.6% to 718,108 shares valued at approximately $208 million.
• Air Products and Chemicals reported earnings per share of $3.09 for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.79 scheduled for payment on November 10th.

Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 40.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,796 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 5,445 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $5,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth about $245,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 718,108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $208,280,000 after purchasing an additional 200,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 110.5% in the fourth quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 2,993 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,571 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on APD. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 target price for the company. Mizuho boosted 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 report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group increased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Finally, Argus upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $335.07.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $1.28 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $291.91. 165,453 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,234,612. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.97 billion, a PE ratio of 41.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 0.82. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.69 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $291.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $283.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.29.

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, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $397,344.42. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 8,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,539,612.68. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

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.