Guidance Capital Inc. Buys New Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Guidance Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 2,797 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $811,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.9% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 45,287 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,484,000 after buying an additional 2,925 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 48.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,469 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 23.3% in the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 1,511 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Chapin Davis Inc. raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 7,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter valued at $220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.50.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $335.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $310.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.92. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $341.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.21%.

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.