Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 977 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 80,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 977 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $24,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Security National Bank acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,250.0% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.50.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.0 %

APD stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $285.50. 924,756 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,613,907. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $280.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $263.07. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $302.03. The company has a market cap of $63.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.90%.

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.