ICW Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 5,926 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• ICW Investment Advisors acquired 5,926 shares of Air Products and Chemicals worth approximately $1.65 million during the third quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 81.66% of the company.
• Air Products reported quarterly earnings of $3.47 per share, exceeding estimates of $3.34, while revenue rose 4.6% year over year to $3.16 billion but fell short of forecasts.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.81 per share, or $7.24 annually, representing a 2.4% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $333.88.

ICW Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,926 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,649,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of APD. North Dakota State Investment Board boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% during the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 6,708 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,866,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,078,000. Busey Bank raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Busey Bank now owns 768 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 18,050 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,022,000 after buying an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 93,093 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,901,000 after buying an additional 1,323 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of APD stock opened at $306.64 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $229.11 and a fifty-two week high of $314.87. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $293.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.25. The stock has a market cap of $68.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,393.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.76.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a positive return on equity of 16.87% and a negative net margin of 0.38%. The firm's revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.46 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 4th will be given a $1.81 dividend. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 4th. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is presently -3,290.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on APD shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $312.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, July 10th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a "sector weight" rating for the company. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $316.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $333.88.

About Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc is a global industrial gas and related equipment company serving customers in industries such as refining, chemicals, manufacturing, metals, electronics, food and beverage, healthcare, and energy. The company supplies atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, specialty gases and other industrial gases.

Air Products produces and distributes gases through pipelines, on-site facilities, bulk deliveries and packaged-gas systems.

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