Ecofi Investissements SA Buys New Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Ecofi Investissements SA purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 151.3% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 24,881 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,028,000 after purchasing an additional 14,981 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 67,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,355,000 after buying an additional 2,321 shares in the last quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,625,000. FORA Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 33,823 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,194,000 after buying an additional 3,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 140.1% during the 1st quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 39,164 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,488,000 after buying an additional 22,850 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD opened at $300.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $66.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $277.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.59. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $302.03.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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, analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued 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 2.36%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. 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 research note on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.50.

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.