New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $83.93 Million Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 306,546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 22,731 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.14% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $83,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter worth $376,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $1,177,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $501,000. Zenyatta Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. Zenyatta Capital Management LP now owns 22,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,024,000 after buying an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Finally, Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 37.6% in the 4th quarter. Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 388,474 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,364,000 after buying an additional 106,054 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:APD traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $234.03. 387,698 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,726,823. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $307.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $236.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $256.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 18.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.