Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. Purchases New Shares in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Security National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,250.0% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on APD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $287.98 on Monday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $296.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $274.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $259.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. Equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 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.