Bennett Associates Wealth Management Trims Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Bennett Associates Wealth Management lowered its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 13.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 167 shares during the period. Bennett Associates Wealth Management’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 41,220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,637,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 93.6% during the 2nd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336 shares during the last quarter. Argent Trust Co lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 7.2% in the second quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 13,971 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,605,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 12.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 20,207 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,166,000 after purchasing an additional 2,223 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 24.4% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 100,992 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,061,000 after purchasing an additional 19,836 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on APD. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Redburn Atlantic raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.71.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.7 %

APD stock opened at $312.01 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $309.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.48. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $337.00. The firm has a market cap of $69.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.52.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.21%.

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.