Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 8,536 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Boston Trust Walden Corp reduced its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 269,708 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,536 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $78,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,448,570,000 after acquiring an additional 88,806 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884,581 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,312,000 after purchasing an additional 33,313 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $555,967,000 after buying an additional 70,759 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $486,343,000 after buying an additional 19,209 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $330.00 to $350.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $340.50.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $335.36 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $74.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $338.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $310.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $299.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.21%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.