Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 78.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,481 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 3,740 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 10,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,814,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,581 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.1 %

APD opened at $287.98 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $274.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $259.67. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $296.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 63.90%.

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.