Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Stock Holdings Lowered by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lessened its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 633,462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,826 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $173,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on APD. StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $231.16 on Tuesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $307.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.06, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $234.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.57.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($0.18). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 18.82%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.64 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 firm 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 is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.56%.

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; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals.