Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Holdings Lifted by Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,241 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals accounts for about 2.1% of Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $37,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,720,704,000 after purchasing an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,062,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $790,371,000 after purchasing an additional 122,676 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $720,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564,169 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,034,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $525,085,000 after acquiring an additional 5,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,936,582 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $499,735,000 after acquiring an additional 389,380 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Vertical Research raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $316.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD opened at $316.66 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $284.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $323.86.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 63.90%.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.