Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $6.95 Million Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 44.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,957 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,353 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $6,948,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of APD. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 17,828 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,171,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 34,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,127,000 after buying an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,062 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after buying an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 773 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stablepoint Partners LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 5,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $338.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $327.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.84. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $337.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $310.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $298.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.68%.

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.