Quantbot Technologies LP Trims Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Quantbot Technologies LP decreased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 33.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,751 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,238 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $4,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of APD. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29.8% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 12,772 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,094,000 after buying an additional 2,929 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,939,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at $2,304,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 125.1% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 2,703 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.5% during the first quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 10,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,495,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of APD stock traded up $3.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $261.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,054,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,764,825. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.31. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $307.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $262.73 and a 200 day moving average of $250.86. The firm has a market cap of $58.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.74 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.3 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on APD. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Citigroup upped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $257.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.43.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.