Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Makes New $1.71 Million Investment in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,799 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,710,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 33.1% during the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 454 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 19.5% during the first quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,692 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 35.3% during the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $997,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% during the first quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,634,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 15.8% during the first quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 29,025 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $8,560,000 after purchasing an additional 3,963 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $280.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 889,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,425,941. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $243.69 and a one year high of $341.14. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $272.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $293.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.86.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.85 EPS. The company's revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on APD. Bank of America lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. 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 on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.41.

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.