Waverly Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Waverly Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,615 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 496 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of APD. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,921,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,894,973,000 after acquiring an additional 4,330,471 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $852,288,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,841,000 after purchasing an additional 520,179 shares during the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter worth approximately $87,173,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 66.1% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 860,519 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $207,807,000 after buying an additional 342,322 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $264.18 on Wednesday. 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 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $307.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $264.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $249.72.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on APD. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays raised their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.29.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.