Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Cuts Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,162 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 903 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $4,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Security National Bank bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on APD. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $257.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $292.14.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APD traded down $5.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $281.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,832,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,710,808. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $265.80 and a 200-day moving average of $250.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market capitalization of $62.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

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.