Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Stock Holdings Increased by EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 175.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 849 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in APD. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,894,973,000 after purchasing an additional 4,330,471 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737,260 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. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 520,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at approximately $87,173,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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 research report on Monday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $295.75 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $297.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $275.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.