J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Has $1.11 Million Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,050 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $962,356,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 111,211.3% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,640,729 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,639,255 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of 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 period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 222.0% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 879,406 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $263,407,000 after acquiring an additional 606,280 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,696.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 518,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,344,000 after acquiring an additional 489,350 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $231.64 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $235.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $257.11. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($0.18). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.64 earnings per share. Air Products and Chemicals’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 67.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $264.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.36.

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