CENTRAL TRUST Co Raises Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD – Get Rating) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,335 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,472,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,764,527,000 after acquiring an additional 176,222 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,829,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,621,573,000 after purchasing an additional 292,013 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,085,969 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $982,594,000 after purchasing an additional 21,569 shares during the period. Public Investment Fund increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 269.2% in the 2nd quarter. Public Investment Fund now owns 2,685,331 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $645,768,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,950,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $469,160,000 after purchasing an additional 39,169 shares during the last quarter. 82.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on APD. UBS Group raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 2nd. StockNews.com began coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $339.00 to $329.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $292.00 to $340.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $312.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Sean D. Major sold 485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.00, for a total value of $151,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,468,075. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $277.04 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $295.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.29. The company has a market cap of $61.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $218.88 and a 1 year high of $328.56.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.27 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.45% and a net margin of 17.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 11.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 3rd will be issued a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.59%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

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Air Products & Chemicals, Inc engages in the manufacture and distribution of atmospheric gases. It operates through the following segments: Industrial Gases-Americas, Industrial Gases-EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), Industrial Gases-Asia, Industrial Gases-Global, and Corporate & Other. The Industrial Gases-America, EMEA, and Asia segment markets and produces atmospheric gases, such as oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases, process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, syngas, and specialty gases and equipment for the production and processing of gases, such as air separation units and non-cryogenic generators.