Private Advisor Group LLC Acquires 2,140 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 10.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,140 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $7,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of APD. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 102.3% in the 2nd quarter. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 89 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Sageworth Trust Co acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 132.1% in the 2nd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 123 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, CEO Seifi Ghasemi purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $252.34 per share, with a total value of $2,523,400.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 659,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $166,461,884.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $310.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $240.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $328.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $320.31.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $269.99 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $283.46 and a 200-day moving average of $286.70. The company has a market capitalization of $59.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.16, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.86. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $251.63 and a 52 week high of $328.56. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.04. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 17.02%. The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

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

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.