Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Lowers Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. lowered its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 10.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,125 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 126 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of APD. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,921,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,894,973,000 after acquiring an additional 4,330,471 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $852,288,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,696.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 518,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,344,000 after buying an additional 489,350 shares during the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter worth approximately $87,173,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 96.4% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 684,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $187,589,000 after acquiring an additional 335,717 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $287.29.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $258.05 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $259.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $251.83. The company has a market cap of $57.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.84. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.74 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.3 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.90%.

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.