Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Stake Increased by Summit Financial LLC

Summit Financial LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 20.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,875 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 4,309,040 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at $852,288,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,034,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $525,085,000 after purchasing an additional 5,140 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,841,000 after purchasing an additional 520,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $278.85 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $267.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $255.09. 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 market cap of $61.99 billion, a PE ratio of 25.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.40.

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.