Running Oak Capital LLC Purchases 6,413 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Running Oak Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,891 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 6,413 shares during the quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $15,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 31.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,096,568 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised 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 in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 110.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,441,752 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $425,202,000 after acquiring an additional 756,780 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 251.4% in the first quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 311,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $91,917,000 after acquiring an additional 222,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter worth approximately $42,661,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $397,344.42. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 8,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised 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 price objective 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 report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 price objective on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $335.06.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD stock opened at $271.24 on Monday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.69 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The firm has a market cap of $60.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.03, a PEG ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $287.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $281.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.10. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 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.