Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Stock Position Cut by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp lessened its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,225 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $23,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 318.2% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 92 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 77.6% in the 3rd quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. now owns 103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on APD. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $346.00 to $359.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $373.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $353.00 to $346.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 6th. KeyCorp began coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Argus increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $316.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $335.59.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD opened at $316.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.37 billion, a PE ratio of 132.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $229.11 and a 1-year high of $324.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $295.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.94.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $3.61. The firm had revenue of $3.56 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 14.33 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

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

Air Products and Chemicals Profile

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.