Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,476 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. by 12.5%, now owning 10,378 shares worth approximately $3.06 million.
• Air Products and Chemicals announced a quarterly dividend of $1.79 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.5%, with a record date of October 1st.
• Analysts have set a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Air Products and Chemicals, with an average price target of $335.07.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,378 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,476 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,819 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,716,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Blue Barn Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at $306,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,307,807 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $385,698,000 after purchasing an additional 19,237 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at $5,598,000. Finally, Strategy Asset Managers LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 9,298 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,742,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $397,344.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 8,686 shares in the company, valued at $2,539,612.68. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of APD stock traded up $2.64 on Wednesday, hitting $291.91. The company had a trading volume of 324,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,316,973. The firm has a market cap of $64.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.01, a P/E/G ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 0.81. The stock's 50-day moving average is $286.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $288.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.29. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 12.86%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.20 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on APD. UBS Group boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $335.07.

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.