Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $27.45 Million Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD – Get Rating) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 117,963 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $27,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 232.6% during the third 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 grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 21.9% during the third 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 acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 75.9% in the third quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 234 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.74% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $285.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $63.49 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $295.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $281.32. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $216.43 and a 52-week high of $328.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 1.93.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $2.64 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $3.27 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 17.61% and a return on equity of 16.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 11.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 3rd will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 2.45%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on APD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $292.00 to $340.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 7th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Societe Generale cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $312.75.

Insider Activity

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

Air Products and Chemicals Profile

(Get Rating)

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.