HF Advisory Group LLC Purchases 518 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

HF Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 24.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,643 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,414,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,668,923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,729 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,163,043 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,246,957,000 after acquiring an additional 38,283 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,829,919 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,085,399,000 after acquiring an additional 39,215 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $962,356,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,931,619 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $528,877,000 after purchasing an additional 66,906 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on APD shares. Mizuho cut their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $304.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:APD traded up $0.90 during trading on Thursday, reaching $229.91. 163,742 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,730,649. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $235.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $257.98. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $307.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $51.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 67.56%.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.