Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC Sells 3,744 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 12.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,674 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,744 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals makes up 2.1% of Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $7,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of APD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,231,560,000 after buying an additional 207,404 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,663,154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,932,581,000 after buying an additional 64,960 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings 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 raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,430,354,000 after purchasing an additional 57,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mantle Ridge LP purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,191,344,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $292.32 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $277.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.26. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.69 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The firm has a market cap of $65.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.49, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released 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). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 15.48%. The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.85 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.