Haverford Financial Services Inc. Has $5.66 Million Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Haverford Financial Services Inc. reduced its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 21,938 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,542 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals comprises 1.7% of Haverford Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Haverford Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $5,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Mathes Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the second quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 10,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,589,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 69.1% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 784,760 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $203,513,000 after buying an additional 320,651 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 24.4% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 100,992 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,061,000 after buying an additional 19,836 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 12.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 20,207 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,166,000 after buying an additional 2,223 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.9% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 36,034 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,299,000 after buying an additional 1,023 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $287.27 on Thursday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $301.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $273.10 and a 200-day moving average of $258.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on APD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.40.

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.