Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Sells 2,939 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT decreased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 9.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,130 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,939 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $7,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 3,740 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $906,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.4% during the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 10,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,814,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.3% during the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.4% during the second quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the second quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,581 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on APD. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $287.27 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $273.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $258.99. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $301.03. The company has a market capitalization of $63.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.