Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Price Target Cut to $370.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) had its price objective decreased by UBS Group from $395.00 to $370.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $342.65.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $291.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $64.92 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12-month low of $227.53 and a 12-month high of $341.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $312.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $307.69.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business 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 $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 41.58%.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total value of $181,706.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 719 shares in the company, valued at $221,811.50. The trade was a 45.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 over the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $888,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.