Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Stake Trimmed by Morningstar Investment Management LLC

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,898 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 142 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 151.3% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 24,881 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,028,000 after purchasing an additional 14,981 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 67,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,355,000 after acquiring an additional 2,321 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 351,506 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $96,242,000 after acquiring an additional 5,502 shares in the last quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter worth $2,625,000. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 126,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,753,000 after buying an additional 9,663 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.9 %

APD stock opened at $280.10 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $270.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $257.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.27 billion, a PE ratio of 25.28, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.82. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $307.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on APD shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals.