Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Earns Neutral Rating from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued their neutral rating on shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a $320.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $345.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $330.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD opened at $310.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $69.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $309.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $301.60. Air Products and Chemicals has a 1-year low of $213.80 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $885,371,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during 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 buying an additional 2,884,581 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $605,734,000 after buying an additional 30,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $608,312,000 after purchasing an additional 33,313 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.