Larson Financial Group LLC Boosts Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,921,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,894,973,000 after acquiring an additional 4,330,471 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $852,288,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in 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 during the period. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter worth approximately $87,173,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 66.1% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 860,519 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $207,807,000 after purchasing an additional 342,322 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on APD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective 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 upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $273.50 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $268.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $255.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $307.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

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.