Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 259 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Gabelli Funds LLC cut its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,491 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,921,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,894,973,000 after purchasing an additional 4,330,471 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,352,000 after buying an additional 1,737,260 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $720,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,169 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,841,000 after acquiring an additional 520,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter valued at about $87,173,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on APD shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on 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. Bank of America lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $295.75 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $275.44 and a 200 day moving average of $260.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.82. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $297.53.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. As a group, research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

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.