Brendel Financial Advisors LLC Buys 270 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Brendel Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,672 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals accounts for 2.1% of Brendel Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 9.2% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,503 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC now owns 34,934 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,401,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 13.3% during the third quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 4,136 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.7% in the third quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 1,340 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Capital Advisors llc grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 14,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,375,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Monday. Mizuho boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $313.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD traded up $2.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $315.99. 1,382,161 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,629,607. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $283.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $264.65. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $323.86. The company has a market cap of $70.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.