Roble Belko & Company Inc Acquires New Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,696.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 518,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,344,000 after purchasing an additional 489,350 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 64.2% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 766,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $217,106,000 after buying an additional 299,649 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 26,852.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 275,720 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $754,920,000 after acquiring an additional 274,697 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,302,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,502,717,000 after acquiring an additional 235,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 9,070.2% in the third quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 185,238 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,496,000 after acquiring an additional 183,218 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $234.06. The company had a trading volume of 528,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,729,195. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $236.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $256.79. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $307.71. The stock has a market cap of $52.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 67.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on APD. UBS Group cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 target price for the company. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $276.36.

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.