6,615 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 508,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,615 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $141,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter valued at $17,263,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 593,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $165,217,000 after acquiring an additional 7,816 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter worth $3,483,000. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.6% during the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 110,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,623,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.1% during the third quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 1,966 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Monday, October 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $353.00 target price for the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $336.00 to $305.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. KeyCorp started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $333.88.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $315.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $294.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.98. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $229.11 and a 1-year high of $319.98. The firm has a market cap of $70.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,433.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.76.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 8th. Investors of record on Monday, January 4th will be given a dividend of $1.81 per share. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 4th. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -3,290.91%.

Air Products and Chemicals Profile

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc is a global industrial gas and related equipment company serving customers in industries such as refining, chemicals, manufacturing, metals, electronics, food and beverage, healthcare, and energy. The company supplies atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, specialty gases and other industrial gases.

Air Products produces and distributes gases through pipelines, on-site facilities, bulk deliveries and packaged-gas systems.