Somerset Trust Co Raises Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Somerset Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,751 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 534 shares during the quarter. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,231,560,000 after purchasing an additional 207,404 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,663,154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,932,581,000 after buying an additional 64,960 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,574,670,000 after buying an additional 3,062,157 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,430,354,000 after buying an additional 57,314 shares during the period. Finally, Mantle Ridge LP bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at $1,191,344,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on APD shares. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup cut their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD stock opened at $278.99 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.69 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $271.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $297.55. The company has a market capitalization of $62.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.20, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 719 shares in the company, valued at $221,811.50. This represents a 45.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.