128 Shares in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Purchased by Cetera Trust Company N.A

Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 128 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 10.4% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 938 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter worth about $1,673,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 25.5% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 207 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 7.6% during the third quarter. Cedar Brook Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,020 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.7% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,808 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,940,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on APD shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Bank of America raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $264.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 15th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $328.00 to $241.00 in a report on Thursday, February 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $234.37 on Tuesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $307.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.81. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $236.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $256.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 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 period last year, the company posted $2.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 67.56%.

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.