Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Decreases Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 33,345 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,657 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $9,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 6,707 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,966,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 7.5% in the second quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,659 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $780,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.7% during the second quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 9,581 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,809,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 33.4% during the second quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 1,975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Field & Main Bank acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the second quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $309.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.00 billion, a PE ratio of -1,408.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.73. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $229.11 and a fifty-two week high of $314.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $298.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $291.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.13. Air Products and Chemicals had a negative net margin of 0.38% and a positive return on equity of 16.87%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.09 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Air Products and Chemicals has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.390-13.490 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.550-3.650 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a $1.81 dividend. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -3,290.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $373.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $336.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $320.00 price target on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.76.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.