Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Has $9.57 Million Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,073 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,958 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals comprises approximately 1.5% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $9,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Security National Bank bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,250.0% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.50.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.3 %

APD stock opened at $300.36 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.77 billion, a PE ratio of 27.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $277.35 and its 200-day moving average is $261.59. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $302.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS 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 company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 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.