Howland Capital Management LLC Has $1.31 Million Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Howland Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 12.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 615 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,312,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of APD. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,775 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,545,000 after buying an additional 2,352 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 243,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $70,626,000 after buying an additional 2,239 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 3,141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $722,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:APD opened at $287.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $284.81 and a 200-day moving average of $290.65. The company has a market cap of $64.07 billion, a PE ratio of 41.85, a PEG ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $243.69 and a one year high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 15.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 104.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on APD shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $334.75.

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.