Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 31.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 232.2% during the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after acquiring an additional 4,774 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 58,864 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,190,000 after purchasing an additional 10,127 shares during the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the second quarter worth about $410,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 13.9% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,958 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,279,000 after buying an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1ST Source Bank lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.3% during the second quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 9,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,526,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $284.13 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $271.06 and a 200-day moving average of $257.84. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $307.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.64, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.