Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 79 shares during the quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 19.9% during the first quarter. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. now owns 37,919 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,183,000 after purchasing an additional 6,293 shares during the last quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.9% during the first quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 11.5% during the first quarter. Haverford Financial Services Inc. now owns 23,086 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,809,000 after acquiring an additional 2,388 shares during the last quarter. Allianz SE grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 189.1% during the first quarter. Allianz SE now owns 2,255 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.1% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 157,107 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $46,334,000 after acquiring an additional 6,188 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $334.75.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $281.88 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.56, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $243.69 and a one year high of $341.14. The company’s fifty day moving average is $285.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $290.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.20 EPS. Analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 103.02%.

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.