National Bank of Canada FI Has $24.86 Million Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI reduced its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 26.9%, owning 84,285 shares, which were valued at approximately $24.86 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.79, representing an annual yield of 2.5%, with a dividend payout ratio of 103.02%.
• Air Products and Chemicals reported an EPS of $3.09 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue increasing by 1.2% year-over-year to $3.02 billion.

National Bank of Canada FI decreased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 26.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84,285 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 31,089 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $24,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,663,154 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,932,581,000 after buying an additional 64,960 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% during the fourth 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 period. Mantle Ridge LP bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,191,344,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,583,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,039,259,000 after purchasing an additional 156,419 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,397,210 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $695,287,000 after purchasing an additional 34,676 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on APD. Barclays decreased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $335.07.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.6%

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $1.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $290.54. The stock had a trading volume of 208,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,312,866. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $287.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $288.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.66 billion, a PE ratio of 41.84, a P/E/G ratio of 6.57 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.69 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 12.86%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.02%.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $397,344.42. Following the sale, the vice president owned 8,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,539,612.68. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.