Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Purchased by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,542,288 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,135 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $397,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 122,676 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in 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 increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 5,140 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $444,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $300.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $277.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $261.49. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $302.03. The firm 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. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted 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. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. On average, analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 63.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Citigroup increased 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 research note on Friday, July 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.