Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Acquires 5,257 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 153.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,684 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,257 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of APD. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on APD shares. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $355.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of 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. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $290.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $334.75.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $298.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.35, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm's 50 day moving average is $281.02 and its 200 day moving average is $290.26. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.69 and a 12 month high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 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 revenue for the quarter 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, sell-side 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

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