Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC Boosts Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in APD. 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 worth $1,894,973,000 after purchasing an additional 4,330,471 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $852,288,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,696.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 518,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,344,000 after purchasing an additional 489,350 shares during the period. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter worth $87,173,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 96.4% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 684,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $187,589,000 after purchasing an additional 335,717 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $250.92 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $259.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $251.54. The stock has a market cap of $55.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 2.80 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 20.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.3 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup dropped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $287.29.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.