Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. Decreases Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lessened its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,874 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,282 shares during the quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.'s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $14,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of APD. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $246,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,609,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,717 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,208 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,220,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD stock traded up $1.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $295.23. 2,097,647 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,362,278. The firm has a market cap of $65.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.91, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $280.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.18. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company 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 business's revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.85 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

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 paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is currently 104.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Bank of America lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $331.53.

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.