Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 5,011 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 5,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,299,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 6,222 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,463 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $371,000. SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 19,491 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,337,000 after acquiring an additional 1,888 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock traded up $1.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $234.72. 1,297,317 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,732,207. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $236.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $256.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $307.71. 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 (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($0.18). The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.64 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TheStreet cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 price objective on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.36.

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.