Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $293.71.
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $364.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $325.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 16th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 12th.
NYSE:APD opened at $268.73 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals has a 52 week low of $167.43 and a 52 week high of $327.89. The company has a quick ratio of 3.43, a current ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.40 billion, a PE ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $272.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $279.92.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 4th will be paid a $1.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 31st. This represents a $5.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 63.96%.
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APD. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 56,091 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $263,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,406,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Bank of Hawaii increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 3,503 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. Finally, Ardsley Advisory Partners LP acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,502,000. 79.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Air Products and Chemicals
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and services worldwide. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, syngas, and specialty gases; and equipment for the production or processing of gases comprising air separation units and non-cryogenic generators for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, gasification, metals, manufacturing, food and beverage, electronics, magnetic resonance imaging, energy production and refining, and metals.
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