Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Stock: Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd. Reduces Stake

Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 89.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 96,680 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 860,090 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals accounts for 2.6% of Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $26,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% in the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 3,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Virginia Estate & Retirement Planning Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 46.1% in the third quarter. Virginia Estate & Retirement Planning Advisors Inc. now owns 111 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 10.4% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 382 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,053 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northcape Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,566,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD opened at $316.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 132.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $295.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.94. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $229.11 and a 52-week high of $324.00.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $3.61. The company had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 4.10% and a return on equity of 17.19%. The business’s revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 14.33 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on APD. Deutsche Bank restated a “hold” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $353.00 to $346.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Argus upped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $316.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $320.00 price objective on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $335.59.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.