Tobam Decreases Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Tobam trimmed its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 21.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. Tobam’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $94,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 27,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 1,259 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28,167 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,170,000 after buying an additional 2,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $888,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on APD. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 5.3 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $310.66 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $213.80 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $310.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $300.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 31.64%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.21%.

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.