Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. Raises Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 30.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,222 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,463 shares during the quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Legacy Bridge LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $233.78. 1,175,212 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,737,782. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $256.79. The company has a market capitalization of $51.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 18.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.64 EPS. Analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $328.00 to $241.00 in a report on Thursday, February 8th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned 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 a consensus price target of $276.36.

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.