Simplicity Wealth LLC Buys Shares of 3,691 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,691 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,089,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 87.7% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,637 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,066,000 after purchasing an additional 4,970 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 9,520 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,761,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 1,598 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on APD. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Bank of America cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.41.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.2%

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $3.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $280.02. 932,938 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,428,096. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.69 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The firm has a market cap of $62.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $271.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $294.16.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) 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 the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.85 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is currently 104.07%.

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.