B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Buys 449 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 8.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,731 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 449 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eos Management L.P. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Eos Management L.P. now owns 27,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,545,000 after buying an additional 5,727 shares in the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 65,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,850,000 after buying an additional 2,285 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 151.3% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 24,881 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,028,000 after purchasing an additional 14,981 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 67,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,355,000 after buying an additional 2,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zenyatta Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 46.7% in the 4th quarter. Zenyatta Capital Management LP now owns 22,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,024,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $282.00 on Thursday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $307.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.69 billion, a PE ratio of 23.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $264.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.15. The business 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 for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.74 EPS. Analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued 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 2.51%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on APD shares. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.29.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.