Tiller Private Wealth Inc. Raises Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Key Points

• Tiller Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. by 19.9% during the first quarter, now holding 37,919 shares, worth approximately $11.18 million.
• Air Products reported $3.09 earnings per share, exceeding estimates of $2.99, and had a revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, up 1.2% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.79, with a yield of 2.5%, though its payout ratio is notably high at 103.02%.

Tiller Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 19.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,919 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,293 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals comprises about 4.7% of Tiller Private Wealth Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Tiller Private Wealth Inc.'s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $11,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,663,154 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,932,581,000 after buying an additional 64,960 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,574,670,000 after acquiring an additional 3,062,157 shares during the last quarter. Mantle Ridge LP bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $1,191,344,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,583,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,039,259,000 after buying an additional 156,419 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,397,210 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $695,287,000 after acquiring an additional 34,676 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada started 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 for the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $335.07.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $397,344.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,539,612.68. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD traded down $3.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $289.19. The stock had a trading volume of 560,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 971,681. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $64.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $285.75 and a 200 day moving average of $290.01. 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 earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 12.86%. The business's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is presently 103.02%.

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.