American Century Companies Inc. Raises Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 999 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $10,637,000 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. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 3,740 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $906,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.4% in the second quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 10,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,814,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.3% in the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.4% during the second quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the second quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 1,581 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of 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. UBS Group lifted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued 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 $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $287.98 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $64.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.82. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $296.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $274.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $259.79.

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. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. Analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Air Products and Chemicals’s 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.