Access Financial Services Inc. Has $1.49 Million Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Access Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 216 shares during the quarter. Access Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,231,560,000 after acquiring an additional 207,404 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,663,154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,932,581,000 after purchasing an additional 64,960 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,574,670,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,157 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,430,354,000 after purchasing an additional 57,314 shares during the period. Finally, Mantle Ridge LP acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,191,344,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on APD. UBS Group decreased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.41.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD stock opened at $280.02 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.69 and a 52-week high of $341.14. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $271.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $293.88.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.85 EPS. Research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.07%.

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.