Versant Capital Management Inc Acquires 165 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 28.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 746 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 13.4% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 45,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,607,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares in the last quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 65.0% during the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,921,000 after purchasing an additional 5,190 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,205.1% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,440,000 after acquiring an additional 35,479 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 44,661 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 85.1% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,514 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,939,000 after purchasing an additional 2,995 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on APD. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD opened at $283.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $312.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.83. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $337.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.21%.

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.