1,781 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 246,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,781 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $68,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter worth about $3,707,000. NBH Bank raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 298.1% during the third quarter. NBH Bank now owns 637 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Letson Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. Letson Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,126 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 10.8% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 16,242 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,519,000 after purchasing an additional 2,521 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:APD opened at $316.01 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $229.11 and a 1 year high of $324.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $70.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $295.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.94.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 17.19% and a net margin of 4.10%. The company had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 14.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on APD shares. Mizuho raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp began coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of 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, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $373.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $335.59.

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.