Telos Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Telos Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,766 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth about $962,356,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 111,211.3% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,640,729 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,639,255 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,414,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,668,923,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115,729 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 222.0% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 879,406 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $263,407,000 after acquiring an additional 606,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,696.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 518,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,344,000 after acquiring an additional 489,350 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $264.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Argus lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $304.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $229.08 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $257.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.64 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.56%.

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.