Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Trims Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lessened its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,303 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $12,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of APD. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,921,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,894,973,000 after purchasing an additional 4,330,471 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $852,288,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,696.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 518,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $142,344,000 after purchasing an additional 489,350 shares during the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at $87,173,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 96.4% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 684,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $187,589,000 after purchasing an additional 335,717 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. 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. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.29.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE APD traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $263.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,747,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,769,134. The stock has a market cap of $58.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.84. 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’s 50-day moving average is $258.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $251.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.49.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The firm’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.74 EPS. Analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.3 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.