First Pacific Financial Purchases 129 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

First Pacific Financial grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,219 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the quarter. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in APD. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,627 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,525,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,193,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 5,979 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,885 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter valued at approximately $19,481,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on APD. Evercore ISI raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.24.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD traded up $2.89 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $323.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,092,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,630,915. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $285.62 and a 200 day moving average of $266.45. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $324.52.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. On average, equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend 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.