Peak Financial Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 9,704 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Peak Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 9,704 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,862,000. Air Products and Chemicals accounts for approximately 1.5% of Peak Financial Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,231,560,000 after purchasing an additional 207,404 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,663,154 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,932,581,000 after purchasing an additional 64,960 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,574,670,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,157 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,661 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,430,354,000 after purchasing an additional 57,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mantle Ridge LP acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,191,344,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of APD stock traded up $3.72 on Friday, hitting $279.94. 1,078,622 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,442,041. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $270.50 and a 200 day moving average of $296.15. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.69 and a fifty-two week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.85 EPS. The business's revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is presently 104.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays dropped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $331.00.

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.