J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Sells 3,891 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 45.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,740 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,891 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 2,134 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. now owns 5,534 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,632,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.8% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,715 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 24,410 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,199,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 197.7% during the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 2,599 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $766,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on APD shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $334.75.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:APD traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $297.38. The company had a trading volume of 686,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,356,895. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $282.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $290.44. The firm has a market cap of $66.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.00. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.69 and a 1-year high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 15.48%. The company's revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.85 EPS. Research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued 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 2.41%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is currently 104.07%.

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.