Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Columbia Asset Management

Columbia Asset Management lessened its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 33.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,785 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 910 shares during the period. Columbia Asset Management's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mantle Ridge LP purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,191,344,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth about $919,721,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $885,371,000. Finally, Capital International Investors purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at $436,636,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock 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 1,444,760. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $270.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $296.48. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.69 and a 52 week high of $341.14. 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 0.88.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.85 EPS. 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is currently 104.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $331.00.

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.