Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys New Shares in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 11,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,283,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 303,944 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,792,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,160,023,000 after acquiring an additional 3,922,567 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,904,537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,940,665,000 after acquiring an additional 137,595 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,911,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,448,340,000 after acquiring an additional 352,012 shares during the period. Finally, Dodge & Cox grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 9,236,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,281,627,000 after acquiring an additional 231,718 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total value of $824,404.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,317,037.12. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank set a $350.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $338.00 to $341.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.12.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $277.95 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $229.11 and a 52 week high of $307.96. The firm has a market cap of $61.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $289.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $277.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.43.

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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

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

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.