Romano Brothers AND Company Purchases 8,340 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Romano Brothers AND Company grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 133.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,609 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,340 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,636 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $996,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 2,907 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $796,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 2,223 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Mycio Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Mycio Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,044 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,929,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Werlinich Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 1,563 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $287.29.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $5.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $258.05. 2,606,874 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,045,374. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.84. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $307.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $259.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $251.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.49.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 20.32%. Air Products and Chemicals's revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.90%.

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.