Stephens Inc. AR Cuts Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,378 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,443 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $9,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on APD. Barclays dropped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 target price for the company. 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $333.59.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of APD stock traded down $0.91 on Monday, reaching $291.06. 617,594 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,379,176. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $278.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.19. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.69 and a 52 week high of $341.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.77 billion, a PE ratio of 42.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.85.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.85 earnings per share. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued 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 2.46%. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is 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.