24,040 Shares in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Purchased by Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 24,040 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,199,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ledyard National Bank lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.9% during the second quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 1,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 10.0% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 23,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,109,000 after purchasing an additional 2,140 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.4% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 9,967 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,985,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the second quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 36,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,806,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.7% during the second quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 2,363 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.62% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $269.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $59.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $283.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $286.70. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $251.63 and a fifty-two week high of $328.56.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 17.02%. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 29th. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CEO Seifi Ghasemi bought 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $264.42 per share, with a total value of $2,908,620.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 670,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,339,354.66. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $240.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $320.31.

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.