Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APD) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.75 on February 12th

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 15th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of 1.75 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, February 12th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 29th.

Air Products and Chemicals has increased its dividend by an average of 11.8% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 48 years. Air Products and Chemicals has a dividend payout ratio of 54.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Air Products and Chemicals to earn $14.30 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 49.0%.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.0 %

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $273.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $60.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.51, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.86. Air Products and Chemicals has a fifty-two week low of $251.63 and a fifty-two week high of $328.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $284.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $286.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.33.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported $3.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 17.02% and a net margin of 18.26%. The firm’s revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, CEO Seifi Ghasemi acquired 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $264.42 per share, for a total transaction of $2,908,620.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 670,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,339,354.66. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APD. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 180 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 47.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 445 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 82.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 8th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.00.

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; 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.