Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Holdings Raised by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 82 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $6,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,414,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,668,923,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115,729 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,163,043 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,246,957,000 after acquiring an additional 38,283 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,829,919 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,085,399,000 after acquiring an additional 39,215 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $962,356,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,931,619 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $528,877,000 after purchasing an additional 66,906 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on APD shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $264.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $304.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $231.64 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $235.88 and a 200-day moving average of $257.11. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $307.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $51.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 18.82%. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.56%.

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; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals.