Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd. Increases Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 22.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,800 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals comprises about 1.7% of Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Nan Fung Trinity HK Ltd.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $10,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mantle Ridge LP purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $1,191,344,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,574,670,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,157 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $436,636,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 31,752.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,249,871 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $368,612,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 159.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,725,762 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $508,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059,970 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $334.75.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $295.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $283.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $290.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.74 billion, a PE ratio of 42.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.69 and a 12-month high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.48% and a net margin of 12.76%. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 104.07%.

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.