Grove Bank & Trust Sells 322 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Grove Bank & Trust lessened its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 40.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 322 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,720,704,000 after purchasing an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,352,000 after buying an additional 1,737,260 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $720,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,169 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,841,000 after acquiring an additional 520,179 shares during the period. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at about $87,173,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $320.58 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $285.62 and its 200 day moving average is $266.45. The company has a market capitalization of $71.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.93, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $323.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $295.00 to $364.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Mizuho raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $316.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.