Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Stake Boosted by Chase Investment Counsel Corp

Chase Investment Counsel Corp raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 15.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 223 shares during the quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake 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 period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 67,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,355,000 after buying an additional 2,321 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 351,506 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $96,242,000 after acquiring an additional 5,502 shares in the last quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,625,000. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 126,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,753,000 after acquiring an additional 9,663 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD stock traded down $3.45 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $271.22. The stock had a trading volume of 109,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,645,923. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $307.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $267.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $255.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

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 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.