Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Grows Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.41.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $280.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $272.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $293.51. The company has a market cap of $62.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.86. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.69 and a fifty-two 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.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. The company’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.85 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share 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. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 104.07%.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.