Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Purchased by Texas Permanent School Fund Corp

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,963 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $11,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 23,796 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,744,000 after acquiring an additional 2,556 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 20.6% in the third quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 25,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,142,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.6% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 17.2% in the third quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 443 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at $438,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on APD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $257.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased 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 research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.64.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $2.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $260.14. The company had a trading volume of 171,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,758,191. The company has a market capitalization of $57.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.31. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $307.71. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $262.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.86.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 16.56%. Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.3 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

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.