Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Reaches New 12-Month High at $297.00

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $297.00 and last traded at $295.79, with a volume of 63266 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $292.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on APD. 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. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $65.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $274.87 and its 200 day moving average is $260.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $486,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at $230,000. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 98.1% during the fourth quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 7,826 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 3,876 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 36.2% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 400,894 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $109,732,000 after purchasing an additional 106,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,511 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.