Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 3,242 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 32.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,643 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,242 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,304,678 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,509,702,000 after buying an additional 303,944 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,792,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,160,023,000 after buying an additional 3,922,567 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,904,537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,940,665,000 after acquiring an additional 137,595 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,911,504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,448,340,000 after acquiring an additional 352,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 9,236,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,281,627,000 after acquiring an additional 231,718 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 2,714 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.76, for a total value of $824,404.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,317,037.12. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:APD opened at $294.96 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $289.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $286.38. The stock has a market cap of $65.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $229.11 and a 12 month high of $314.87.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.06 by $0.14. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 16.91%.The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.22 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, November 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $1.81 per share. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $358.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.88.

Air Products and Chemicals Profile

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc is a global supplier of industrial gases and related equipment and services, headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company produces and delivers atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as specialty and process gases used across a wide range of industrial applications. Air Products designs, builds and operates gas production facilities, merchant distribution networks and on-site gas systems for customers that require reliable, high-purity gases and integrated supply solutions.

The company’s product and service portfolio includes packaged and bulk gas supply, pipeline distribution, on-site generation, gas handling and storage equipment, and engineered systems for gas liquefaction and purification.