Procyon Advisors LLC Has $763,000 Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Procyon Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,786 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 129 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in APD. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.4% in the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on APD. TheStreet cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays cut their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $280.29.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of APD traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $241.45. The stock had a trading volume of 150,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,818,393. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $307.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $240.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $264.16.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 18.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 66.79%.

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.