Brokerages Set Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Target Price at $331.53

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $331.53.

APD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of APD opened at $334.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.52. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $312.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $284.35. Air Products and Chemicals has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $336.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 45,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,607,000 after acquiring an additional 5,400 shares during the period. Jensen Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 65.0% during the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,921,000 after purchasing an additional 5,190 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 38,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,605,000 after buying an additional 2,387 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,234,000. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 51,110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,217,000 after purchasing an additional 12,925 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

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.