Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Grows Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 23.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,782 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,077 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.'s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of APD. Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 140 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on APD. BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $331.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APD traded up $3.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $279.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,078,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,444,760. 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 1 year low of $243.69 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The company has a market capitalization of $62.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $270.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $296.48.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. Air Products and Chemicals's revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.07%.

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.