Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Purchased by Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 663 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $183,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of APD. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,414,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,668,923,000 after buying an additional 1,115,729 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% during the second quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,163,043 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,246,957,000 after purchasing an additional 38,283 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,829,919 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,085,399,000 after purchasing an additional 39,215 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth $962,356,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,931,619 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $528,877,000 after buying an additional 66,906 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on APD. TheStreet lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Argus downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.8 %

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $233.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $307.71. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $235.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $257.80. The company has a market capitalization of $51.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly 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). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 18.82%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.64 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 67.56%.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.