Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Purchased by Mutual Advisors LLC

Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,518 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,448,570,000 after purchasing an additional 88,806 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after buying an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $608,312,000 after buying an additional 33,313 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,936,582 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $499,735,000 after purchasing an additional 389,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $555,967,000 after buying an additional 70,759 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on APD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $335.65.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD opened at $329.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $73.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day moving average is $310.14 and its 200-day moving average is $296.47. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $337.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.68%.

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.