Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC cut its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 89.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,187 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 521,396 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $18,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position 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 worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,484 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 974 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $1.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $291.84. The company had a trading volume of 682,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,372,158. The company has a market cap of $64.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's fifty day moving average is $276.82 and its 200-day moving average is $290.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.00. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.69 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 12.76%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.85 EPS. The business's revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is currently 104.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley assumed 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $330.94.

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.