Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 168,259 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 9,096 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.08% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $49,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 43,917 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,952,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 101.7% during the first quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,004 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,515 shares during the period. Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 833.3% during the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 112 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,198 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 13,262 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,911,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on APD shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of 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. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lowered their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $330.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE APD traded up $1.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $291.84. 682,381 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,372,195. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.69 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $276.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.43. The company has a market cap of $64.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 12.76%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.