Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lessened its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,632 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 359 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $7,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.3% in the first quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 47,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,906,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter valued at $582,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% during the first quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Tran Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% during the first quarter. Tran Capital Management L.P. now owns 29,701 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,759,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 21.7% during the first quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on APD. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.41.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:APD opened at $280.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.69 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $271.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $294.43. The stock has a market cap of $62.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.86.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.85 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.07%.

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.