Brick & Kyle Associates Invests $2.29 Million in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Brick & Kyle Associates acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 8,865 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,288,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings 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 worth $1,894,973,000 after purchasing an additional 4,330,471 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,260 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 1,564,169 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,841,000 after purchasing an additional 520,179 shares during the period. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter valued at approximately $87,173,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $300.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. 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 has a market capitalization of $66.77 billion, a PE ratio of 27.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $277.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $261.38.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during 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%. Equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.