ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its “ClearBridge Dividend Strategy” second quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, the S&P 500 Index increased 4.3%, for a half-year gain of 15.3%. The performance for the quarter was almost entirely driven by the information technology (or “IT”) sector. The firm has optimistic views about the economy and not expecting a recession near term despite a slowdown in activity. During the second quarter, the strategy underperformed its S&P 500 Index benchmark. The strategy gained four out of 11 sectors in which it was invested in the quarter on an absolute basis. The IT sector was the main positive contributor, while the materials and financial sectors detracted. Stock selection and sector allocation detracted, relatively. Please review the strategy’s top five holdings to see its best choices for 2024.
ClearBridge Dividend Strategy highlighted stocks like Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services. The one-month return of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) was -6.41%, and its shares lost 12.14% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On July 3, 2024, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) stock closed at $253.00 per share with a market capitalization of $56.243 billion.
ClearBridge Dividend Strategy stated the following regarding Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“We increased our position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) after the company announced a major offtake agreement for its Neom green hydrogen project. Investors were concerned about the risks embedded in APD’s backlog of hydrogen plants — this contract should dispel these concerns and validate the company’s strategy. At the same time, we trimmed Mondelez to manage potential headwinds from rising commodity costs and Microsoft to capture some recent profits.”
A line of workers in a refinery wearing protective suits and masks, overseeing the production process of specialty gases.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 51 hedge fund portfolios held Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) at the end of the first quarter which was 42 in the previous quarter. In the second fiscal quarter of 2024, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) reported earnings per share of $2.85, which exceeded the upper limit of the previous guidance. This represents a 4% improvement compared to the prior year, driven by strong results in Americas and Europe. While we acknowledge the potential of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
We discussed Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in another article and shared The London Company Large Cap Strategy’s views on the company in Q1 2024. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
