Access Financial Services Inc. Sells 2,975 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Access Financial Services Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,775 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,975 shares during the quarter. Access Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 3,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Virginia Estate & Retirement Planning Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 46.1% during the third quarter. Virginia Estate & Retirement Planning Advisors Inc. now owns 111 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 10.4% during the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 382 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.7% during the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,053 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northcape Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.4% in the second quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,566,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $346.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $373.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $336.00 to $305.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $335.59.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $316.23. The stock had a trading volume of 651,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,073,138. The business’s fifty day moving average is $295.58 and its 200-day moving average is $292.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $70.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 132.87, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.67. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $229.11 and a 1-year high of $324.00.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61. The firm had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 17.19% and a net margin of 4.10%. The company’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 14.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.81 per share. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 4th. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 304.20%.

About Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals is an industrial gases company that supplies gases, related equipment and services to businesses and institutions. Its products include atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases. The company serves a range of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, food and healthcare. Its offerings support industrial processes and applications such as gas production and distribution, materials processing and process technology.