Founders Financial Securities LLC Boosts Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 30.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,273 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 768 shares during the quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 55,111 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,071,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,405 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 24,849 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,803,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,166,522 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $319,394,000 after purchasing an additional 22,846 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $274.72 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $267.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $61.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for 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, equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals 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.