Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC Invests $1.30 Million in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,299,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Dover Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the third quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 1,894 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.4% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 40.4% during the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% during the third quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 3,636 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $996,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.4 %

APD traded up $1.01 during 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $256.31. The firm has a market cap 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 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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. StockNews.com raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays dropped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $304.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $276.36.

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.