Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 30,733 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,989,030 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,733 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.44% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $5,085,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cornerstone Advisors LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,381,000. Spirepoint Private Client LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,237,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 146,240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,430,000 after purchasing an additional 36,684 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 140.1% during the 1st quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 39,164 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,488,000 after purchasing an additional 22,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $15,825,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on APD. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays increased 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 research report on Monday, June 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $257.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.43.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $3.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $262.91. The company had a trading volume of 762,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,952,141. 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 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 cap of $58.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $264.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.31.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued 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. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.74 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 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.