Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Position Trimmed by Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.

Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. reduced its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 27.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,325 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,271 shares during the quarter. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC.'s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 1,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 3,597 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,043,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 10.2% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 421 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,541 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $454,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,499 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on APD. Barclays lowered 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 note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley initiated 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 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $331.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE:APD traded down $4.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $286.73. 816,877 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,358,225. The company has a market capitalization of $63.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.69 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $279.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 15.48%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.85 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is 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.