Bahl & Gaynor LLC Sells 39,817 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Bahl & Gaynor LLC trimmed its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 13.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 250,262 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 39,817 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $69,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 277.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,161,451 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,597,451,000 after purchasing an additional 28,050,956 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the second quarter worth $5,370,093,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,216,976,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 326.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,348,573 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $927,010,000 after buying an additional 2,563,873 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 2nd quarter valued at $495,201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $312.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.15, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.67. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $229.11 and a one year high of $324.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $295.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 4.10% and a return on equity of 17.19%. The business had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 4th will be given a dividend of $1.81 per share. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 4th. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 304.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on APD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $373.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $312.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $335.59.

Air Products and Chemicals Profile

Air Products and Chemicals is an industrial gases company that supplies gases, related equipment and services to businesses and institutions. Its products include atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases. The company serves a range of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, food and healthcare. Its offerings support industrial processes and applications such as gas production and distribution, materials processing and process technology.