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

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research 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 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $340.88.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on APD. Bank of America lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total value of $1,419,570.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APD. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 14.8% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,469 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.2% in the 3rd 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 during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 9,260 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 12.9% during 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 in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $263.35 on Friday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $308.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $309.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12 month low of $227.53 and a 12 month high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. On average, research 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 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. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.58%.

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.