Chapin Davis Inc. Acquires 404 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Chapin Davis Inc. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Chapin Davis Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $449,000. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 2,454 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 19,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,310,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 43,144 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,885,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. Finally, Keyes Stange & Wooten Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $641,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on APD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $309.18.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 9.5 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $312.71 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $69.52 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.82. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $313.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $280.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $263.24. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. Research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.