Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Purchased by Cape Investment Advisory Inc.

Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,703 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.4% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,636 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.1% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,957 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.8% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,263 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,492,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 2,907 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $796,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of APD traded up $1.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $264.61. 1,070,639 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,712,160. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $242.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $251.40. The company has a market cap of $58.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.80. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $307.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 20.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.74 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on APD. UBS Group downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $272.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. TheStreet downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $273.77.

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.