Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Raises Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in APD. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the subject of several recent research reports. TheStreet cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Argus lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $264.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.2 %

APD opened at $234.37 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $52.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $307.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $236.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $256.79.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 67.56%.

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.