Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by West Oak Capital LLC

West Oak Capital LLC lessened its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,716 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals makes up approximately 1.1% of West Oak Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at $962,356,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 111,211.3% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,640,729 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $505,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,639,255 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,414,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,668,923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,729 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 222.0% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 879,406 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $263,407,000 after buying an additional 606,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,696.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 518,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $142,344,000 after buying an additional 489,350 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE APD traded up $0.30 on Thursday, hitting $241.63. The company had a trading volume of 296,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,820,851. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $307.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.10, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $240.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $264.16.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 18.82%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 66.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $264.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $280.29.

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.