Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Makes New $1.86 Million Investment in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 7,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,859,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of APD. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,720,704,000 after purchasing an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.2% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,062,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $790,371,000 after buying an additional 122,676 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $720,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,169 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,034,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $525,085,000 after acquiring an additional 5,140 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on APD. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.50.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $300.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.11, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $277.35 and its 200 day moving average is $261.49. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $302.03. 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 (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

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.