Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Shares Sold by Confluence Wealth Services Inc.

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. decreased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,659 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% in the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 3,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Virginia Estate & Retirement Planning Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 46.1% in the 3rd quarter. Virginia Estate & Retirement Planning Advisors Inc. now owns 111 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 382 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,053 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Northcape Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,566,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $320.00 price target on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $346.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $312.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $335.59.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $315.02 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $295.22 and a 200-day moving average of $291.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.15 billion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $229.11 and a 12 month high of $324.00.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61. The company had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 4.10% and a return on equity of 17.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 4th. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 304.20%.

About Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals is an industrial gases company that supplies gases, related equipment and services to businesses and institutions. Its products include atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases. The company serves a range of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, food and healthcare. Its offerings support industrial processes and applications such as gas production and distribution, materials processing and process technology.