Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE APD opened at $310.35 on Tuesday. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12 month low of $216.30 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $308.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $302.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $69.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. Research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.77 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total value of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at $3,282,177.60. This trade represents a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $1,173,204. This trade represents a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,749 shares of company stock valued at $3,030,032 in the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in APD. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

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.