Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 402,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 17,447 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.18% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $110,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. RWA Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $3,878,000. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $315,000. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $442,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on APD. Barclays dropped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. TheStreet lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $233.78 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $256.46. The company has a market cap of $51.97 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 18.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 67.56%.

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.