Wellington Management Group LLP Acquires New Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,568 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,525,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Security National Bank bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.29.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $247.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $307.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $259.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $251.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.49.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 20.32%. Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.90%.

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.