Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Has $73.36 Million Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 248,733 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,746 shares during the quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC owned about 0.11% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $73,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.8%

APD traded down $2.32 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $277.89. 566,157 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,441,486. 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 market cap of $61.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $271.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $296.84. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $243.69 and a one year high of $341.14.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.85 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is 104.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $320.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $331.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.