Tran Capital Management L.P. Invests $8.50 Million in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Tran Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 29,303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,499,000. Air Products and Chemicals accounts for 1.0% of Tran Capital Management L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,448,570,000 after acquiring an additional 88,806 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $608,312,000 after purchasing an additional 33,313 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 25.2% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,936,582 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $499,735,000 after buying an additional 389,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $555,967,000 after buying an additional 70,759 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on APD. UBS Group upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Vertical Research raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $335.65.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $329.29 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $310.14 and a 200-day moving average of $296.47. The company has a market capitalization of $73.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.84. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $337.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders 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 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 41.68%.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.