Windward Capital Management Co. CA Trims Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Windward Capital Management Co. CA reduced its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 11.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 178 shares during the period. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $852,288,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,034,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $525,085,000 after purchasing an additional 5,140 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 520,179 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $268.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $59.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $307.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $268.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $256.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. Research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued 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 2.63%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on APD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup upped their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets increased 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 report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.40.

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.