Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Purchases Shares of 6,060 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired 6,060 shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., valued at approximately $1,787,000, in the first quarter of the year.
• Air Products reported a quarterly EPS of $2.69, falling short of the consensus estimate of $2.83, with revenue of $2.92 billion, down 0.5% from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.79 per share with a dividend yield of 2.46%, scheduled for payment on November 10th.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,060 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,787,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 20,277 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,881,000 after acquiring an additional 4,478 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,775 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,545,000 after buying an additional 2,352 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 243,505 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $70,626,000 after buying an additional 2,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 3,141 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APD traded up $3.49 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $285.24. 212,705 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,335,599. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $285.05 and a 200 day moving average of $290.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.29. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.69 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.00, 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.10. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 12.86%. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.20 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on APD shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $334.75.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.