Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Buys 6,188 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 157,107 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,188 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $46,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,663,154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,932,581,000 after purchasing an additional 64,960 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 129.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,429,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,574,670,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,157 shares in the last quarter. Mantle Ridge LP bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,191,344,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,583,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,039,259,000 after purchasing an additional 156,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,397,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $695,287,000 after purchasing an additional 34,676 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $287.00 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $63.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.30, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $285.39 and a 200 day moving average of $290.00. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 12.86%. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $355.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $334.75.

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.