Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC Cuts Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,445 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dover Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 1,894 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.4% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 180 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 5,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,622,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Columbia Trust Co 01012016 increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 5,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,559,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $264.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. TheStreet downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Citigroup increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price 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 note on Tuesday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:APD traded up $1.35 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $229.11. 704,392 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,741,476. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $235.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $258.18. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $307.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 16.84%. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.56%.

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.