Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP Increases Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 19.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 190,575 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,280 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals makes up about 1.2% of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP owned 0.09% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $56,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 833.3% in the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 112 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 525.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on APD shares. Mizuho boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays cut their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $334.75.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $1.62 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $296.28. The company had a trading volume of 308,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,354,126. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $243.69 and a one year high of $341.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $282.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $290.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $65.93 billion, a PE ratio of 43.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.92 billion for 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%. Air Products and Chemicals's quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.85 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.07%.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.