Grandfield & Dodd LLC Sells 4,132 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Grandfield & Dodd LLC lessened its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 108,986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,132 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals comprises about 1.5% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $26,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,304,678 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,509,702,000 after acquiring an additional 303,944 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,766,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,209,068,000 after acquiring an additional 272,197 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,559,492 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,607,065,000 after buying an additional 106,578 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 9,004,892 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,455,814,000 after buying an additional 183,492 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,870,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,419,029,000 after buying an additional 609,489 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on APD. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $350.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD opened at $278.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $61.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $294.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.66.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.06 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 16.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. 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. Analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued a $1.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 76.61%.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total value of $824,404.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 14,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,317,037.12. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.