Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Stake Boosted by HF Advisory Group LLC

HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 24.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,643 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 518 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of APD. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 663 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,031,000. AM Squared Ltd grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. AM Squared Ltd now owns 400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Guidance Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 2,346 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target 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. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. TheStreet cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD traded up $0.90 on Thursday, hitting $229.91. 163,742 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,730,649. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $235.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $257.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.11 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 67.56%.

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.