Morton Community Bank Acquires 4,310 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Morton Community Bank raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 84.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 4,310 shares during the period. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 151.3% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 24,881 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,028,000 after purchasing an additional 14,981 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 67,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,355,000 after buying an additional 2,321 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 351,506 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $96,242,000 after buying an additional 5,502 shares during the last quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter worth $2,625,000. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 126,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,753,000 after acquiring an additional 9,663 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE:APD traded down $4.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $268.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,066,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,647,773. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $268.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.18. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $307.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.25, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on APD. 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 research note on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.40.

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.