Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Makes New Investment in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $948,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Delta Asset Management LLC TN acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Sageworth Trust Co acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,250.0% in the 1st quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. 82.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on APD. Citigroup assumed coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $317.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $322.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $340.00 to $325.00 in a report on Friday, May 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.93.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $292.70 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $224.75 and a twelve month high of $328.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $293.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $286.72. The company has a market cap of $65.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.87.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The basic materials company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 16.88% and a return on equity of 17.18%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 11.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 2nd will be issued a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 29th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 71.21%.

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; specialty gases; and equipment for the production or processing of gases comprising air separation units and non-cryogenic generators for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, magnetic resonance imaging, energy production, medical, food, and metals.