DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Has $16.46 Million Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale decreased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,611 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $16,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Norges Bank bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $962,356,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 111,211.3% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,640,729 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,771,000 after buying an additional 1,639,255 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,414,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,668,923,000 after buying an additional 1,115,729 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 222.0% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 879,406 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $263,407,000 after acquiring an additional 606,280 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,696.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 518,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,344,000 after acquiring an additional 489,350 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $237.63 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $307.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $236.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $260.41.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($0.18). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on APD shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 target price for the company. TheStreet lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $280.29.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.