Sentry Investment Management LLC Has $275,000 Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 17.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 218 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,921,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,894,973,000 after purchasing an additional 4,330,471 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $852,288,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,352,000 after buying an additional 1,737,260 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,841,000 after buying an additional 520,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter worth $87,173,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $277.40 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $269.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $257.11. 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 current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $61.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 63.90%.

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.