Blair William & Co. IL Boosts Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% in Q1, owning 104,256 shares valued at approximately $30.7 million.
• Analysts have recently adjusted price targets for Air Products and Chemicals, with Barclays lowering its target to $325, while UBS raised it to $344, indicating varied sentiment in the market.
• Air Products and Chemicals will pay a quarterly dividend of $1.79 per share on November 10, with a dividend yield of 2.5%, despite a dividend payout ratio of over 103%.

Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,256 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,131 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $30,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,775 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,545,000 after buying an additional 2,352 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $722,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $20,636,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $513,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $334.75.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of APD stock opened at $281.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $285.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $290.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.73 billion, a PE ratio of 40.56, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.69 and a 52-week high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.10. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 12.86%. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is currently 103.02%.

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.

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