Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC

Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 29.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 824 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 345 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Morgan Stanley raised 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 purchasing an additional 1,115,729 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,163,043 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,246,957,000 after purchasing an additional 38,283 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in 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 worth $1,085,399,000 after buying an additional 39,215 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $962,356,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in 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 worth $528,877,000 after buying an additional 66,906 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on APD shares. StockNews.com lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD opened at $229.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $50.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $257.98. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released 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). The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 18.82%. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 EPS 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 given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.56%.

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