Mather Group LLC. Trims Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Mather Group LLC. lessened its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,255 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $15,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,720,704,000 after buying an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.2% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,062,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $790,371,000 after purchasing an additional 122,676 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,564,169 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,034,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $525,085,000 after purchasing an additional 5,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,936,582 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $499,735,000 after purchasing an additional 389,380 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Vertical Research raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $309.18.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $312.71 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 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 $313.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $280.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $263.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. Research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

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.