Stableford Capital II LLC Sells 3,230 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Stableford Capital II LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 49.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,244 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,230 shares during the period. Stableford Capital II LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,720,704,000 after acquiring an additional 4,309,040 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,260 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $720,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564,169 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,841,000 after purchasing an additional 520,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $87,173,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.24.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of APD opened at $323.23 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $286.51 and its 200-day moving average is $267.02. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $324.52.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. Equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

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.