Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Announces $1.79 Quarterly Dividend

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 22nd, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of 1.79 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, August 11th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%.

Air Products and Chemicals has raised its dividend payment by an average of 5.7% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 50 consecutive years. Air Products and Chemicals has a payout ratio of 54.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Air Products and Chemicals to earn $13.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.7%.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $269.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $59.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12-month low of $243.69 and a 12-month high of $341.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $274.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $299.10.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.14). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,811.50. This trade represents a 45.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals stock. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on APD. UBS Group dropped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.38.

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.