Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 29.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 782,187 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 332,633 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $201,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,921,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,894,973,000 after acquiring an additional 4,330,471 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at $852,288,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,260 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,841,000 after purchasing an additional 520,179 shares during the period. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at $87,173,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on APD shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.5 %

APD stock opened at $284.13 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $307.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $271.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.02. The stock has a market cap of $63.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio 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.