First National Trust Co Cuts Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Key Points

• First National Trust Co reduced its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 14.0%, owning 6,058 shares after selling 984 during the 1st quarter, with a total value of $1,787,000.
• Air Products and Chemicals reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing estimates by ($0.14), and its revenue of $2.92 billion was slightly below analyst expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.79 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.46% with a payout ratio of 104.07%.

First National Trust Co decreased its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 14.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,058 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 984 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $715,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,603 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Mantle Ridge LP acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $1,191,344,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,238 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $436,636,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $334.75.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 2.1%

APD stock traded down $6.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $281.88. 1,072,180 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 934,039. The stock has a market cap of $62.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.56, a P/E/G ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. 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's 50 day moving average price is $285.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $290.47.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 12.86%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

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

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.