Girard Partners LTD. Sells 577 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Girard Partners LTD. decreased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 11.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 577 shares during the period. Girard Partners LTD.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Delta Asset Management LLC TN acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Sageworth Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,250.0% in the first quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 82.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $340.00 to $325.00 in a report on Friday, May 12th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $322.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $317.00 target price for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.93.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD stock traded down $2.99 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $295.03. The stock had a trading volume of 278,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 919,000. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $224.75 and a 52-week high of $328.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $293.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $286.63. The company has a market cap of $65.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.87.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The basic materials company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.07. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 16.88% and a return on equity of 17.18%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.62 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 2nd will be given a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 29th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.21%.

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; specialty gases; and equipment for the production or processing of gases comprising air separation units and non-cryogenic generators for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, magnetic resonance imaging, energy production, medical, food, and metals.