Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,166 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,968 shares during the quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $5,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mantle Ridge LP purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $1,191,344,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $919,721,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,574,670,000 after buying an additional 3,062,157 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $885,371,000. Finally, Capital International Investors purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $436,636,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on APD shares. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered 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 note on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $331.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE APD traded up $3.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $279.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,078,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,442,041. The stock has a market cap of $62.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.86. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.69 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The company's 50-day moving average is $270.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $295.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. Air Products and Chemicals's revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.