Plancorp LLC Sells 154 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Plancorp LLC lowered its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 12.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,107 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 154 shares during the quarter. Plancorp LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,720,704,000 after acquiring an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $720,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564,169 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,034,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $525,085,000 after buying an additional 5,140 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $444,352,000 after buying an additional 1,737,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% in 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 buying an additional 520,179 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on APD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. 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 given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $291.13 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $301.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $272.46 and a 200-day moving average of $258.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $64.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

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.