Harrington Investments INC Lowers Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Harrington Investments INC reduced its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 67 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals comprises 1.5% of Harrington Investments INC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Harrington Investments INC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,921,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,894,973,000 after purchasing an additional 4,330,471 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $852,288,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $444,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,260 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,841,000 after purchasing an additional 520,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $87,173,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $268.71 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $268.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $256.37. The company has a market capitalization of $59.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.81. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 63.90%.

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.