Tobam Decreases Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Tobam lowered its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 21.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 324 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. Tobam’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $94,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $861,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,884,581 shares during the period. ING Groep NV grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 240.7% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,023,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $304,717,000 after purchasing an additional 723,019 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 318.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 948,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $282,473,000 after purchasing an additional 722,132 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,685.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 764,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $249,698,000 after purchasing an additional 721,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,957.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 718,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,138,000,000 after buying an additional 715,686 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD stock opened at $310.66 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $213.80 and a one year high of $341.14. The firm has a market cap of $69.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.85. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $310.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $300.85.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on APD. StockNews.com lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

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.