Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.79

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, July 18th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of 1.79 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, November 10th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%.

Air Products and Chemicals has a payout ratio of 54.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Air Products and Chemicals to earn $13.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.7%.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD stock traded up $1.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $295.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,097,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,364,939. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $281.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.21. The company has a market capitalization of $65.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.91, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals has a fifty-two week low of $243.69 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 15.48%. The firm's revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,260 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays reduced their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $331.53.

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.