Valley National Advisers Inc. Acquires 208 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,827 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,921,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,894,973,000 after buying an additional 4,330,471 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $852,288,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,696.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 518,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,344,000 after buying an additional 489,350 shares during the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter worth about $87,173,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 96.4% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 684,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $187,589,000 after buying an additional 335,717 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.8 %

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $2.00 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $253.00. The stock had a trading volume of 763,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,777,805. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.49. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $307.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $260.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $251.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 20.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.29.

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.