Aviance Capital Partners LLC Makes New $727,000 Investment in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $727,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,921,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,894,973,000 after buying an additional 4,330,471 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,302,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,502,717,000 after acquiring an additional 235,037 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $852,288,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,931,619 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $528,877,000 after acquiring an additional 66,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,508,625 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $413,078,000 after purchasing an additional 168,959 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $247.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $307.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $259.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $251.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on APD. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $287.29.

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.