Victoria Brifo Sells 1,359 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Stock

Key Points

• Victoria Brifo, the VP of Air Products and Chemicals, sold 1,359 shares at an average price of $292.38, reducing her total shareholding by 13.53% to 8,686 shares.
• Air Products and Chemicals plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.79 per share on November 10th, with a current annualized dividend yield of 2.5%.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $3.09, surpassing expectations, while revenue increased by 1.2% year-over-year.

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) 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 sale, the vice president owned 8,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,539,612.68. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $0.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $289.08. 521,770 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,320,696. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.33 billion, a PE ratio of 41.64, a P/E/G ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.69 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $286.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.81. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.20 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.02%.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mantle Ridge LP purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,191,344,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 31.5% during the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 8,759,722 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,583,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,096,568 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $436,636,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 31,752.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,249,871 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $368,612,000 after buying an additional 1,245,947 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on APD shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America downgraded 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 report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $335.07.

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.