Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Stake Cut by Columbia Asset Management

Columbia Asset Management decreased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 40.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,918 shares during the period. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of APD. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% during the second quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 47,643 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,294,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $444,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,260 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 1,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 1,897 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Journey Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.0% in the second quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,961,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE APD opened at $273.50 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $307.71. The company has a market capitalization of $60.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.68, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $268.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $255.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. Equities research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.90%.

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.