Yousif Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 54,311 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,984 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $14,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 6,222 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,463 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $371,000. SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 19,491 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,337,000 after buying an additional 1,888 shares during the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD traded up $0.17 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $233.88. 728,648 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,724,361. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $236.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $256.46. The company has a market cap of $51.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $307.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 67.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $276.36.

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.