Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA

First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA cut its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 16.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 480 shares during the quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in APD. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,180 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,010,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,890 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,472,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 105,875 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,459,000 after purchasing an additional 4,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 17.1% during the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 755 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 82.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $240.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $320.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Seifi Ghasemi acquired 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $264.42 per share, for a total transaction of $2,908,620.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 670,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,339,354.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE APD traded down $3.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $269.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,537,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 934,696. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $251.63 and a 52-week high of $328.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $283.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $286.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.86.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported $3.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.04. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 17.02%. The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.89 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 2nd will be issued a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 29th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 67.83%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.