Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Grows Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 23.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,782 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,077 shares during the quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of APD. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on APD shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of APD opened at $280.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.69 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $271.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $296.84.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.85 EPS. Analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.07%.

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.