Fiduciary Group LLC Reduces Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Fiduciary Group LLC lessened its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,344 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 252 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of APD. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,720,704,000 after buying an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $852,288,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,034,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $525,085,000 after purchasing an additional 5,140 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $444,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,841,000 after purchasing an additional 520,179 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on APD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $284.20 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $257.66. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.18 billion, a PE ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. On average, equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.90%.

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.