Davis R M Inc. Has $643,000 Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Davis R M Inc. decreased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 51 shares during the period. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 28.4% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 628 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 9.6% during the first quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,323,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 18.5% during the first quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 14.2% during the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 8,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,023,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 20.2% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 23,426 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,675,000 after buying an additional 3,938 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD traded up $5.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $253.79. 1,391,096 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,745,524. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $307.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $264.68 and a 200 day moving average of $250.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.15. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on APD. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.29.

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.