RFG Advisory LLC Sells 1,925 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

RFG Advisory LLC trimmed its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 23.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,925 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.8% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 3,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $859,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 7.5% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 144,812 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,040,000 after purchasing an additional 10,163 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.0% during the third quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 25.4% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 28,070 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,955,000 after purchasing an additional 5,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter valued at approximately $314,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on APD. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Barclays boosted 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 report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.29.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $272.91 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $307.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $256.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $251.80.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

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.