Oak Thistle LLC Buys New Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 3,915 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,010,000. Air Products and Chemicals makes up about 0.7% of Oak Thistle LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% in 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 buying an additional 4,330,471 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at $852,288,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,352,000 after buying an additional 1,737,260 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,841,000 after buying an additional 520,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at $87,173,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD traded down $4.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $268.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,066,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,647,773. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.25, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.82. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $307.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $256.18.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. On average, analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $297.40.

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.