Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Holdings Decreased by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lessened its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 27.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,961 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,993 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in APD. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,720,704,000 after purchasing an additional 4,309,040 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.2% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,062,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $790,371,000 after buying an additional 122,676 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $720,597,000 after buying an additional 1,564,169 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,034,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $525,085,000 after acquiring an additional 5,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,936,582 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $499,735,000 after acquiring an additional 389,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on APD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $320.24.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE APD opened at $323.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $71.86 billion, a PE ratio of 29.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $324.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $286.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $267.02.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.