Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Buys 1,902 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,143 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,902 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals comprises approximately 2.1% of Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas owned approximately 0.06% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $37,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 67.8% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 8,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,451 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 175.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 45,366 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,707,000 after buying an additional 28,901 shares during the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,240.5% during the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 15,697 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,051,000 after buying an additional 14,526 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.4% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 141,238 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,447,000 after acquiring an additional 5,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,859,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $335.65.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.6 %

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $329.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $310.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $296.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $337.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.68%.

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.