Rhumbline Advisers Boosts Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 420,877 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,681 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.19% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $124,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,231,560,000 after purchasing an additional 207,404 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,663,154 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,932,581,000 after purchasing an additional 64,960 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 3,062,157 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,661 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,430,354,000 after acquiring an additional 57,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mantle Ridge LP acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,191,344,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.7%

APD stock traded down $1.98 during trading on Thursday, hitting $278.23. The company had a trading volume of 223,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,440,047. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.69 and a 52-week high of $341.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $296.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on APD. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Barclays reduced 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.