Fiduciary Group LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Fiduciary Group LLC reduced its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,344 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 252 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,720,704,000 after acquiring an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $852,288,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,034,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $525,085,000 after buying an additional 5,140 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,352,000 after buying an additional 1,737,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,841,000 after acquiring an additional 520,179 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:APD opened at $284.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $307.71. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $271.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $257.66.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for 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, analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.40.

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