Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Stock: Founders Financial Securities LLC Lowers Holdings

Key Points

• Founders Financial Securities cut its Air Products and Chemicals stake by 54.9% in the third quarter, selling 5,726 shares and retaining 4,696 shares valued at approximately $1.31 million. Institutional investors collectively own 81.66% of APD.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $333.88. Recent ratings included price targets ranging from $320 to $373.
• APD shares opened at $316.37, near their 52-week high, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $3.47, exceeding estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.81 per share, representing a 2.3% yield.

Founders Financial Securities LLC trimmed its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,696 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,726 shares during the period. Founders Financial Securities LLC's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. S&CO Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the second quarter valued at $27,733,000. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,457.1% during the 3rd quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 28,806 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,851,000 after acquiring an additional 26,956 shares in the last quarter. Park National Corp OH increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 66.7% in the third quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 24,538 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,761,000 after acquiring an additional 9,817 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 57,052 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $16,573,000 after purchasing an additional 12,020 shares during the period. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 65,322 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $19,151,000 after buying an additional 4,279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on APD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $373.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a "sector weight" rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $360.00 to $346.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $333.88.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $316.37 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $229.11 and a 1 year high of $316.64. The firm's 50-day moving average is $294.27 and its 200-day moving average is $289.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.45 billion, a PE ratio of -1,438.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.76.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a negative net margin of 0.38% and a positive return on equity of 16.87%. Air Products and Chemicals's revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.46 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 4th will be given a dividend of $1.81 per share. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 4th. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is presently -3,290.91%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc is a global industrial gas and related equipment company serving customers in industries such as refining, chemicals, manufacturing, metals, electronics, food and beverage, healthcare, and energy. The company supplies atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, specialty gases and other industrial gases.

Air Products produces and distributes gases through pipelines, on-site facilities, bulk deliveries and packaged-gas systems.

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