Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky lessened its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 17.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,439 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,231,560,000 after acquiring an additional 207,404 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,663,154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,932,581,000 after purchasing an additional 64,960 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,574,670,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,157 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,430,354,000 after purchasing an additional 57,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mantle Ridge LP acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,191,344,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:APD opened at $279.94 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.69 and a 12-month high of $341.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $270.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $296.15. The firm has a market cap of $62.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on APD shares. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $331.00.

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.