Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Stock: Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd. Cuts Position

Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 89.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,680 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 860,090 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals comprises about 2.6% of Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $26,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. S&CO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,733,000. Park National Corp OH lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 24,538 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,761,000 after buying an additional 9,817 shares during the last quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,457.1% during the 3rd quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 28,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,851,000 after buying an additional 26,956 shares during the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,352.9% in the 3rd quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,309 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,627,000 after buying an additional 12,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 57,052 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,573,000 after buying an additional 12,020 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $353.00 to $346.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $320.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $346.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $316.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $335.59.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE APD opened at $316.01 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $229.11 and a fifty-two week high of $324.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $295.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $70.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 132.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.67.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61. The company had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 17.19% and a net margin of 4.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 14.33 earnings per share 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, February 8th. Investors of record on Monday, January 4th will be issued a $1.81 dividend. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 4th. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 304.20%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

Air Products and Chemicals is an industrial gases company that supplies gases, related equipment and services to businesses and institutions. Its products include atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases. The company serves a range of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, food and healthcare. Its offerings support industrial processes and applications such as gas production and distribution, materials processing and process technology.