Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. Raises Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 51,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals makes up 1.6% of Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $14,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $861,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 240.7% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,023,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $304,717,000 after purchasing an additional 723,019 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 318.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 948,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $282,473,000 after purchasing an additional 722,132 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,685.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 764,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $249,698,000 after purchasing an additional 721,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,957.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 718,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,138,000,000 after buying an additional 715,686 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $310.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.11. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $213.80 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $309.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $301.29.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. Equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Redburn Atlantic raised 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. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.94.

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.