West Oak Capital LLC Cuts Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

West Oak Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,716 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals makes up about 1.1% of West Oak Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $376,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $1,177,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter worth $501,000. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. now owns 5,871 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,664,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cox Capital Mgt LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC now owns 12,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,314,000 after purchasing an additional 5,198 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $264.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. 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. TD Cowen dropped their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $280.29.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of APD stock traded up $0.30 on Thursday, reaching $241.63. 296,649 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,820,851. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $264.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.71 billion, a PE ratio of 23.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $307.71.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 66.79%.

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.