TIAA Trust National Association Increases Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 205.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 56,528 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,049 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $13,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,330,471 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth $852,288,000. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter valued at $87,173,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 66.1% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 860,519 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $207,807,000 after purchasing an additional 342,322 shares during the period. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 96.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on APD. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $257.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.43.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APD traded down $3.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $262.91. 762,658 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,952,141. The company’s 50 day moving average is $264.72 and its 200 day moving average is $250.31. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $307.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.45 billion, a PE ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 16.56%. Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.74 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.90%.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.