Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Acquired by Studio Investment Management LLC

Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 20.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,068 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,720,704,000 after acquiring an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at $852,288,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,034,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $525,085,000 after purchasing an additional 5,140 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $444,352,000 after buying an additional 1,737,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,841,000 after buying an additional 520,179 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on APD shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $275.20 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $307.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $269.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $256.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.18 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

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.