Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Eastern Bank

Eastern Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 6.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,896 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,909 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $20,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vestcor Inc increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 9.0% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 4,359 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 22.4% in the first quarter. Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd. now owns 37,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,942,000 after buying an additional 6,800 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter worth approximately $1,787,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.1% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 19,026 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,611,000 after buying an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mycio Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 80.3% in the first quarter. Mycio Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,606 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,308,000 after buying an additional 6,507 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $6.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $281.88. 1,072,180 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 934,039. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.29. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.69 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.73 billion, a PE ratio of 40.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $285.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $290.47.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is currently 104.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on APD. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $334.75.

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.