Vicus Capital Takes Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Vicus Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $321,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,921,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,894,973,000 after purchasing an additional 4,330,471 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at about $852,288,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,696.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 518,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $142,344,000 after purchasing an additional 489,350 shares during the period. Scharf Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter worth about $87,173,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 96.4% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 684,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $187,589,000 after acquiring an additional 335,717 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.29.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $258.05 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $259.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $251.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market cap of $57.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.84. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The firm’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.