New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 13.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 231,794 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 36,800 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.10% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $68,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $715,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 20.9% in the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,603 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Mantle Ridge LP bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,191,344,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $246,000. Finally, Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $1,917,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of 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 report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $333.59.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD stock traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $291.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 617,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,379,176. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.69 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The stock has a market cap of $64.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.31, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.85. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $278.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $290.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 15.48%. Air Products and Chemicals's quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.