American National Bank & Trust Co. VA Acquires Shares of 3,460 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

American National Bank & Trust Co. VA acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,460 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $838,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Security National Bank bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APD traded up $2.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $253.00. 763,687 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,109,843. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.31. 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 market cap of $56.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $260.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $251.41.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 20.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 63.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.29.

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.