Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 35.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,595 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 686 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter worth $376,000. Eos Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Eos Management L.P. now owns 27,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,545,000 after purchasing an additional 5,727 shares in the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 65,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,850,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $1,177,000. Finally, Zenyatta Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Zenyatta Capital Management LP now owns 22,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,024,000 after acquiring an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $263.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,747,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,769,134. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $58.48 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.84. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $307.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $258.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $251.91.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 20.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.74 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.3 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 Monday, August 12th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on APD. Citigroup cut their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $287.29.

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.