Apella Capital LLC Takes $251,000 Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Apella Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 931 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter worth $224,000. Spring Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Spring Capital Management LLC now owns 18,843 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,557,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 3,919 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $833,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,167 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $934,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $331.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of APD stock opened at $276.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm's 50-day moving average is $270.77 and its 200-day moving average is $296.48. The stock has a market cap of $61.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.69 and a 52-week high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last issued 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). 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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