Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Bought by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 9.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,022,941 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,680 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.46% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $263,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 32.3% during the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 2,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $535,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.4% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 78,328 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 65.7% in the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,758 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 11.3% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 10,265 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.8% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,172 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $819,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $287.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $274.23 and a 200-day moving average of $259.53. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $296.00. The firm has a market cap of $64.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. Analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Barclays increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.40.

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.