Griffin Asset Management Inc. Sells 120 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 39,917 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals accounts for about 1.4% of Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $11,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,231,560,000 after acquiring an additional 207,404 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,663,154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,932,581,000 after purchasing an additional 64,960 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,574,670,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,157 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,430,354,000 after buying an additional 57,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mantle Ridge LP bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth $1,191,344,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $280.02 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $271.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $294.43. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.69 and a 52 week high of $341.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 104.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on APD. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Bank of America cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.41.

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.