Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Trims Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI reduced its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 48.9%, owning 1,521 shares valued at $449,000.
• Air Products and Chemicals announced a quarterly dividend of $1.79 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.5%.
• Recent analyst ratings for Air Products include price targets ranging from $282.00 to $355.00, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lessened its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 48.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,521 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,454 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 412 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 purchasing an additional 2,352 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $722,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,004,813 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $291,436,000 after purchasing an additional 39,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $7,371,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $288.55 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $286.59 and a 200 day moving average of $289.60. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.69 and a 52 week high of $341.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.52, a PEG ratio of 6.44 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 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 company had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut 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. Bank of America lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $335.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $397,344.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 8,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,539,612.68. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.