Farmers Trust Co. Reduces Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Farmers Trust Co. lowered its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 8.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 970 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the period. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter valued at about $2,799,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,715,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $486,047,000 after buying an additional 21,422 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter valued at approximately $572,000. CI Investments Inc. raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.0% during the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 3,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $989,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.8% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 357,107 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $101,204,000 after buying an additional 22,702 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD opened at $272.06 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $255.51 and a 200-day moving average of $251.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.55, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.84. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $307.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 20.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Argus lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $287.29.

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.