Vontobel Holding Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 199,835 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,176 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $54,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dover Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the third quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 1,894 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.4% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 180 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 5,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,622,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Columbia Trust Co 01012016 raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.7% in the third quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 5,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,559,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD opened at $231.72 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $234.65 and a 200 day moving average of $258.96. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($0.18). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.64 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on APD shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.36.

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.