ProShare Advisors LLC Purchases 7,816 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors increased its Air Products and Chemicals stake by 1.3% in the third quarter, adding 7,816 shares to reach 593,813 shares valued at approximately $165.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 81.66% of APD.
• Air Products and Chemicals shares traded up 1.5% at $316.37, near their 52-week high of $316.64. The company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $3.47, although revenue of $3.16 billion fell slightly short of estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.81 per share, equivalent to $7.24 annually and a 2.3% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $333.88.

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 593,813 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,816 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.27% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $165,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 3,911 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,147,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Virginia Estate & Retirement Planning Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 46.1% during the third quarter. Virginia Estate & Retirement Planning Advisors Inc. now owns 111 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Revisor Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.8% during the first quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,545 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,320,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 10.4% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 382 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.7% during the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 5,053 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:APD opened at $316.37 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $229.11 and a 52 week high of $316.64. The stock has a market cap of $70.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,438.05, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.76. The company's 50 day moving average price is $294.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.73. 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 (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.13. Air Products and Chemicals had a negative net margin of 0.38% and a positive return on equity of 16.87%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.09 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13.46 earnings per share 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, February 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 4th will be given a $1.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 4th. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is presently -3,290.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus upped 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 report on Wednesday, September 9th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $312.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Monday, October 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $353.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $333.88.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

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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