Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,297 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,177 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $9,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of APD. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% during the third quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 11,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,452,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the third quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 1,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 3,740 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $906,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $331.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $328.69 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $332.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $309.67 and its 200-day moving average is $282.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $73.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.21%.

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.