Boston Trust Walden Corp Lowers Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Boston Trust Walden Corp decreased its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 263,203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,505 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $77,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Mantle Ridge LP acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at $1,191,344,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $919,721,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,574,670,000 after acquiring an additional 3,062,157 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $885,371,000. Finally, Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $436,636,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on APD shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.41.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD stock opened at $275.32 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $272.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $61.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.02, a PEG ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 0.86. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.69 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 12.76%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 104.07%.

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.