L & S Advisors Inc Acquires 13,828 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

L & S Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 179.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,538 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,828 shares during the quarter. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $6,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,884,581 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $444,352,000 after buying an additional 1,737,260 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $720,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,169 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 240.7% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,023,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $304,717,000 after acquiring an additional 723,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 318.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 948,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $282,473,000 after purchasing an additional 722,132 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on APD. Mizuho upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Vertical Research upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $331.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $327.85 on Thursday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $332.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $72.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $308.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $281.76.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 41.21%.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.