Quarry LP Takes Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 781 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% during 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. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,260 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $720,597,000 after buying an additional 1,564,169 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,841,000 after buying an additional 520,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter valued at approximately $87,173,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $297.74 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $66.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $302.03. The company’s 50-day moving average is $278.33 and its 200 day moving average is $261.96.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on APD. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley upped 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, Bank of America raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.50.

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.