Brokerages Set Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) PT at $341.47

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $340.88.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE APD opened at $295.05 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals has a one year low of $227.53 and a one year high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $65.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $310.28 and its 200-day moving average is $309.48.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. 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 currently 41.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total transaction of $410,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,008,604.84. The trade was a 28.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter worth $25,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 14.8% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,469 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.2% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 82,515 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,568,000 after purchasing an additional 2,587 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,041,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $310,000,000 after purchasing an additional 9,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 12.9% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,640 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,870,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

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.