Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Acquires 6,188 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.1%, acquiring an additional 6,188 shares in the 1st quarter, bringing their total ownership to 157,107 shares valued at approximately $46.3 million.
• Analysts updated their price targets for Air Products and Chemicals, with UBS raising theirs to $344.00, while Bank of America lowered theirs to $282.00, reflecting mixed market sentiments.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.79, representing a dividend yield of 2.5%, with the payment set for November 10th, following an ex-dividend date of October 1st.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,107 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,188 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $46,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 1,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 421 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,541 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,499 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stableford Capital II LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $950,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on APD shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on 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. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective 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. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $334.75.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of APD stock opened at $287.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.69 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $285.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.00.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 12.86%. Air Products and Chemicals's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is 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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