Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Position Increased by Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC

Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,293 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Security National Bank bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on APD. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.29.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $5.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $258.05. 2,606,874 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,045,374. The company has a market capitalization of $57.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $259.73 and a 200 day moving average of $251.71. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $307.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.