Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC Boosts Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 33.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 454 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,508 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,208,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,232,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.3%

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $279.94 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $270.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $295.70. The stock has a market cap of $62.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.86. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.69 and a 1-year high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on APD. Citigroup dropped their target price 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. UBS Group cut their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $331.00.

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.