Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Position Raised by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 48.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 119,727 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,072 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.05% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $32,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,414,008 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,668,923,000 after buying an additional 1,115,729 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,163,043 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,246,957,000 after purchasing an additional 38,283 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,829,919 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,085,399,000 after purchasing an additional 39,215 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth about $962,356,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,931,619 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $528,877,000 after purchasing an additional 66,906 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $328.00 to $241.00 in a report on Thursday, February 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $304.00 to $295.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $305.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:APD traded down $4.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $231.53. 1,520,072 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,299,674. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $234.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $259.34. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $307.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market cap of $51.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($0.18). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 18.82%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.64 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals's previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is currently 67.56%.

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.