Trajan Wealth LLC Buys Shares of 17,381 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Key Points

• Trajan Wealth LLC has invested approximately $5.13 million in Air Products and Chemicals, acquiring 17,381 shares during the first quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.79 per share, with a total annualized dividend yield of 2.5%.
• Air Products and Chemicals reported a quarterly EPS of $3.09, exceeding estimates, with revenue growth of 1.2% year-over-year.

Trajan Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 17,381 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $5,126,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in 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 worth $1,932,581,000 after buying an additional 64,960 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in 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 worth $1,574,670,000 after buying an additional 3,062,157 shares during the period. Mantle Ridge LP purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $1,191,344,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings 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 worth $1,039,259,000 after buying an additional 156,419 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during 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 buying an additional 34,676 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $335.07.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD stock traded down $1.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $290.53. The stock had a trading volume of 1,033,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 980,574. The company's 50-day moving average price is $287.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.40. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.69 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.80, a PEG ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.10. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 12.86%. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Victoria Brifo sold 1,359 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $397,344.42. Following the sale, the vice president 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

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.