Perigon Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Perigon Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,409 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in APD. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.9% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,180 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter valued at $1,010,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,890 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,472,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 105,875 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,459,000 after buying an additional 4,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 755 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on APD. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Bank of America raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $264.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 price target on the stock. Finally, TheStreet lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $227.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $50.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $307.71. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $235.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.18.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.56%.

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.