Insigneo Advisory Services LLC Boosts Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 10.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,132 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 392 shares during the quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,330,471 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $444,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,260 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 1,564,169 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter worth about $87,173,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $295.74 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $275.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.50. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $297.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup raised 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 report on Friday, July 12th. UBS Group upped 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 research note on Tuesday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.40.

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.