Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 840 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado cut its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 840 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $7,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Security National Bank bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2,250.0% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on APD. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group increased their price target 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $287.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $274.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $259.67. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $296.00.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders 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 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.