Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Upgraded to Hold by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $257.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $286.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE APD opened at $273.36 on Tuesday. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $307.71. The company has a market capitalization of $60.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $267.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $251.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 63.90%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 4,309,040 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $852,288,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.2% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,062,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $790,371,000 after acquiring an additional 122,676 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $720,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,099,419 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $508,626,000 after acquiring an additional 167,800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

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.