Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Sells 475 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lessened its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 475 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $888,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 11,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,452,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. CX Institutional increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Stockton lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 1,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on APD. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.50.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of APD opened at $333.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $310.40 and a 200-day moving average of $300.66.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 31.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.21%.

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.