Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Sells 332 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lowered its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,279 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 332 shares during the quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $7,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,696.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 518,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $142,344,000 after acquiring an additional 489,350 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 64.2% in the 3rd 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 26,852.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 275,720 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $754,920,000 after buying an additional 274,697 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,302,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,502,717,000 after buying an additional 235,037 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 9,070.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 185,238 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,496,000 after buying an additional 183,218 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on APD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. TheStreet lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $304.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of APD opened at $233.78 on Wednesday. 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 $51.97 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.81. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $236.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $256.46.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.64 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 67.56%.

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.