Krane Funds Advisors LLC Sells 173 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Krane Funds Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 11.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,370 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 173 shares during the quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of 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. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $330.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $285.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $275.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $290.53. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.69 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.51 billion, a PE ratio of 41.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 12.76%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.85 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company 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 $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 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.