Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY Cuts Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY decreased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,680 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 254 shares during the quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.5% during the second quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 114,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,519,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 7.3% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 631,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $189,186,000 after purchasing an additional 43,115 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.3% in the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 6,271 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,878,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Payden & Rygel bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,241,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 235.4% during the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 8,574 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,568,000 after buying an additional 6,018 shares during the last quarter. 82.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD opened at $272.39 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $251.63 and a twelve month high of $328.56. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $282.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $286.48. The firm has a market cap of $60.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.86.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.04. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 17.02% and a net margin of 18.26%. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 29th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 67.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on APD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 4th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $320.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, CEO Seifi Ghasemi acquired 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $264.42 per share, for a total transaction of $2,908,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 670,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,339,354.66. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Profile

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; specialty gases; and equipment for the production or processing of gases comprising air separation units and non-cryogenic generators for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, magnetic resonance imaging, energy production, medical, food, and metals.