First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Purchases 50 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,759 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. DB Fitzpatrick & Co Inc now owns 6,544 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2,134.1% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 36,080 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,739,000 after purchasing an additional 34,465 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.1% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 6,827 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,653,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 641,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $155,383,000 after buying an additional 7,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Saxon Interests Inc. lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 3,555 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $253.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $56.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $307.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $261.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $251.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.15. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on APD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.29.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.