Bard Financial Services Inc. Buys 200 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Bard Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $715,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $267,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at about $590,000. Finally, Mantle Ridge LP acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,191,344,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup cut their price target 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. UBS Group cut their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $331.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $281.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $270.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $295.25. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.69 and a 52-week high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.86.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 EPS 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 net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.85 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. 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.