Engineers Gate Manager LP Makes New $375,000 Investment in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD – Get Rating) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,612 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $375,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of APD. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 232.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 143 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Tobam bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 75.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 234 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $339.00 to $329.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $292.00 to $340.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $312.75.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $280.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $296.27 and its 200 day moving average is $281.15. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $216.41 and a 1-year high of $328.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.27 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.45% and a net margin of 17.61%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.52 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 11.39 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.69%.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.00, for a total transaction of $151,805.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,468,075. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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Air Products & Chemicals, Inc engages in the manufacture and distribution of atmospheric gases. It operates through the following segments: Industrial Gases-Americas, Industrial Gases-EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), Industrial Gases-Asia, Industrial Gases-Global, and Corporate & Other. The Industrial Gases-America, EMEA, and Asia segment markets and produces atmospheric gases, such as oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases, process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, syngas, and specialty gases and equipment for the production and processing of gases, such as air separation units and non-cryogenic generators.