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

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 17.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,965 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 3,868 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $7,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,260 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,563 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,792 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $810,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on APD. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $330.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE:APD traded up $4.79 on Wednesday, reaching $290.26. 1,113,761 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,372,519. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.69 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The company has a market capitalization of $64.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.19, a PEG ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.85. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $275.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.53.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is 104.07%.

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.