Exane Asset Management Lowers Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Exane Asset Management lowered its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 99.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 96 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 29,194 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals makes up approximately 0.0% of Exane Asset Management's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Exane Asset Management's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $31,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,231,560,000 after purchasing an additional 207,404 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,663,154 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,932,581,000 after purchasing an additional 64,960 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,062,157 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,661 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,430,354,000 after purchasing an additional 57,314 shares during the period. Finally, Mantle Ridge LP purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,191,344,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD traded down $1.98 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $292.13. 1,042,263 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,360,700. The business's 50-day moving average price is $278.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $290.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.69 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The company has a market capitalization of $65.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.46, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.85 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is currently 104.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on APD. Morgan Stanley began 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 target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada began 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 target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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 raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $332.12.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.