Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky decreased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 17.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,837 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,439 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 22,097 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,463,000 after buying an additional 5,209 shares during the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on APD. 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. Barclays lowered their price target on 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. 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 report on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $331.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $279.94 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $270.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $296.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $62.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.85 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. 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 Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is presently 104.07%.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.

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