Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Sells 9,384 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 58,900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 9,384 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $16,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,414,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,668,923,000 after buying an additional 1,115,729 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,163,043 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,246,957,000 after buying an additional 38,283 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,829,919 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,085,399,000 after buying an additional 39,215 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $962,356,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,931,619 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $528,877,000 after buying an additional 66,906 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 1.6 %

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $235.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $235.65 and a 200-day moving average of $259.91. The company has a market cap of $52.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.00%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $264.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Argus lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. TheStreet lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.36.

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.