Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $331.53.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on APD shares. UBS Group upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,448,570,000 after buying an additional 88,806 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased 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 worth $790,371,000 after acquiring an additional 122,676 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $720,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,312,000 after purchasing an additional 33,313 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $331.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $332.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $310.63 and a 200-day moving average of $282.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 41.21%.

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.