Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. Purchases 950 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 33.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the quarter. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 25.1% in the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 11,750 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,350,000 after buying an additional 2,358 shares during the last quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.1% in the first quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 9,222 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,720,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,879 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 10,782 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,180,000 after buying an additional 2,077 shares during the period. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% in the first quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,086 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,674 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays reduced their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $331.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE:APD opened at $276.38 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.69 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $270.77 and a 200 day moving average of $296.48. The firm has a market cap of $61.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 104.07%.

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.