Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Good Life Advisors LLC

Good Life Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,391 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 121 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of APD. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $962,356,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 111,211.3% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,640,729 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,639,255 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,414,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,668,923,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115,729 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 222.0% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 879,406 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $263,407,000 after acquiring an additional 606,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,696.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 518,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,344,000 after acquiring an additional 489,350 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $264.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $280.29.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD traded up $0.94 on Thursday, hitting $242.27. 1,439,817 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,840,254. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $240.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.16. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.64 EPS. Research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 66.79%.

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.