Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Position Raised by Front Row Advisors LLC

Front Row Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3,541.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,238 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,204 shares during the period. Front Row Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $319,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of APD. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $486,000. Evoke Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at $1,171,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $1,440,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $300.36 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $302.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $277.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $261.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $66.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.82.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on APD. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.50.

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.