Raiffeisen Bank International AG Sells 6,242 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG reduced its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.7%, now owning 86,771 shares valued at approximately $25.36 million.
• The company posted a quarterly earnings report with an EPS of $3.09, exceeding estimates, and a revenue of $3.02 billion, up 1.2% year-over-year.
• Air Products and Chemicals announced a quarterly dividend of $1.79, with a yield of 2.5%, despite a high payout ratio of 104.07%.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG reduced its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,771 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 6,242 shares during the quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $25,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in APD. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $715,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,603 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $473,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Mantle Ridge LP acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,191,344,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,238 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,250,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $436,636,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.5%

APD traded up $4.26 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $291.74. 151,186 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,331,824. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $285.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.69 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The stock has a market cap of $64.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion during 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 in the previous year, the business posted $3.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on APD. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $334.75.

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.