Abner Herrman & Brock LLC Grows Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Abner Herrman & Brock LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,383 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the period. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $10,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mantle Ridge LP purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at $1,191,344,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $919,721,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,574,670,000 after acquiring an additional 3,062,157 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at $885,371,000. Finally, Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth about $436,636,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on APD. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $331.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of APD stock traded down $1.49 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $278.73. 280,654 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,440,433. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.69 and a 12-month high of $341.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. The company's 50-day moving average price is $271.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $296.84.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.