Brookstone Capital Management Sells 156 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Brookstone Capital Management reduced its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,340 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 156 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of APD. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings 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 worth $444,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,260 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $720,597,000 after buying an additional 1,564,169 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $374,841,000 after buying an additional 520,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter worth about $87,173,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD opened at $316.81 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $284.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $265.55. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $323.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. As a group, analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 61.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Friday. Mizuho boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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 issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.47.

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.