Blair William & Co. IL Acquires 19,836 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100,992 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 19,836 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $26,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Security National Bank purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on APD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD stock opened at $287.27 on Thursday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $301.03. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $273.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $258.99. The company has a market capitalization of $63.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted 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. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.90%.

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.