UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Raises Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,204,845 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 163,669 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.54% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $349,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $715,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 106.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,914,000 after acquiring an additional 6,952 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 44.2% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 118.2% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tran Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,499,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on APD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $320.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $330.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 719 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $221,811.50. This trade represents a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD traded up $3.96 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $273.80. 209,870 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,442,062. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $60.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.69 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The business's 50 day moving average price is $273.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.40.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 104.07%.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.