Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Fruth Investment Management

Fruth Investment Management lowered its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,257 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 305 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals makes up 1.6% of Fruth Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $6,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 151.3% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 24,881 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,028,000 after purchasing an additional 14,981 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 67,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,355,000 after purchasing an additional 2,321 shares during the period. Trilogy Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at $2,625,000. FORA Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 13.0% in the first quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 33,823 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,194,000 after purchasing an additional 3,881 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 140.1% in the first quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 39,164 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,488,000 after purchasing an additional 22,850 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.2 %

APD stock opened at $320.58 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $323.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $285.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.45. The stock has a market cap of $71.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

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.