Mackenzie Financial Corp Acquires 25,322 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 29.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 110,413 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,322 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $32,563,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,663,154 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,932,581,000 after purchasing an additional 64,960 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,574,670,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,157 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,931,661 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,430,354,000 after purchasing an additional 57,314 shares in the last quarter. Mantle Ridge LP bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $1,191,344,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,583,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,039,259,000 after purchasing an additional 156,419 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced 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 initiated coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $334.75.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 2.1%

NYSE:APD traded down $6.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $281.88. 1,072,180 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 934,039. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $243.69 and a one year high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $285.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.47. The company has a market cap of $62.73 billion, a PE ratio of 40.56, a P/E/G ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.20 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current 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 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 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.