AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Takes $43.51 Million Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 168,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,508,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Security National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 700.0% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 128 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $0.92 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $277.84. 1,594,567 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,678,350. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $267.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $253.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business 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 $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 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.