California Public Employees Retirement System Has $110.08 Million Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 402,035 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 17,447 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $110,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their target price 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. Argus lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $304.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $264.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $233.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $236.44 and its 200-day moving average is $256.46. The stock has a market cap of $51.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.81. 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 announced 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). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 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.