Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group

Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group decreased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,345 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 358 shares during the period. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 833.3% in the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 112 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 525.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on APD shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $331.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $0.16 on Friday, reaching $293.74. 70,209 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,360,834. The stock has a market cap of $65.37 billion, a PE ratio of 42.69, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.69 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $280.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $290.18.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 12.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 104.07%.

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.