Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Stock Holdings Increased by Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC

Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 892 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 85,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $23,320,000 after acquiring an additional 3,491 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,917 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520 shares in the last quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 32,062 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,779,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 5,787 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,584,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 30,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,419,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD traded down $3.40 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $227.76. 2,590,036 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,756,218. The company has a market cap of $50.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.06, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $234.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.57. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $307.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 67.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on APD. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 target price for the company. Argus cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.36.

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.