Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,209 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $6,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 11,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,452,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Stockton boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the third quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 1,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chesapeake Wealth Management increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 2,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup lifted 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 research report on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 5.3 %

APD opened at $310.66 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $310.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $300.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $213.80 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.85. 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 (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 31.64%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.21%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

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.