Mission Wealth Management LP Grows Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Mission Wealth Management LP increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 31.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 328 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,330,471 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,302,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,502,717,000 after buying an additional 235,037 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $852,288,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,099,419 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $508,626,000 after acquiring an additional 167,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,029,678 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $491,730,000 after acquiring an additional 64,427 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays upped their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.29.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE:APD traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $252.67. 1,381,395 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,040,758. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $261.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $251.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $56.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $307.71.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.90%.

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.