Phoenix Wealth Advisors Sells 4,057 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Phoenix Wealth Advisors cut its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 48.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,057 shares during the period. Phoenix Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,682,000 after acquiring an additional 5,235 shares during the period. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $790,000. Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 892 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 85,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $23,320,000 after purchasing an additional 3,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,917 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,263,000 after buying an additional 1,520 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on APD. TheStreet downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $304.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:APD traded down $3.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $227.76. 2,590,139 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,263,944. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $235.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $258.18. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $307.71. The stock has a market cap of $50.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($0.18). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 18.82%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.64 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 67.56%.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.