Royal Bank of Canada Has $695.29 Million Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,397,210 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,676 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 1.08% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $695,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,975 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,733,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,502 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 12,027 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,488,000 after buying an additional 2,704 shares during the period. Rovin Capital UT ADV grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 850 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carnegie Investment Counsel acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $809,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on APD. UBS Group lowered their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $330.38.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $1.83 during trading on Thursday, hitting $267.84. 187,314 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,444,389. The company has a market cap of $59.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $274.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $299.36. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.69 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.85 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is currently 104.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 719 shares in the company, valued at $221,811.50. This trade represents a 45.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

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.