New Covenant Trust Company N.A. Makes New Investment in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 482 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,720,704,000 after buying an additional 4,309,040 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at about $852,288,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 8.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,099,419 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $508,626,000 after purchasing an additional 167,800 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,029,678 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $491,730,000 after purchasing an additional 64,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,841,000 after buying an additional 520,179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 9.0 %

NYSE:APD traded up $23.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $287.47. The stock had a trading volume of 3,804,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,768,678. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $307.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $265.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.08. The company has a market capitalization of $63.91 billion, a PE ratio of 25.94, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.26 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on APD shares. Barclays boosted 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 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.29.

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.