Czech National Bank Buys 2,916 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,916 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $13,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,448,570,000 after purchasing an additional 88,806 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,062,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $790,371,000 after buying an additional 122,676 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after buying an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $720,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,169 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,312,000 after acquiring an additional 33,313 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on APD shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 3.0 %

APD stock opened at $301.87 on Tuesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $337.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $309.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $293.04.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.21%.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.