Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Sells 4,387 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH cut its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,278 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,387 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned about 0.06% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $39,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,028 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 974 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 1,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on APD shares. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Barclays cut their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $331.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $0.96 on Thursday, reaching $283.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 678,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,432,862. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $63.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.86. The business's fifty day moving average price is $270.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $295.16. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.69 and a twelve month high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. Air Products and Chemicals's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.85 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is currently 104.07%.

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.