Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 14.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,474 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,455 shares during the quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $4,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mantle Ridge LP purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at $1,191,344,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $919,721,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,574,670,000 after buying an additional 3,062,157 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $885,371,000. Finally, Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth about $436,636,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on APD. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $332.41.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock traded down $4.40 on Friday, hitting $270.98. The company had a trading volume of 2,050,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,426,417. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.69 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $60.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $272.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $292.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.85 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is presently 104.07%.

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.