173 Shares in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Bought by Decker Retirement Planning Inc.

Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in 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 during the period. ING Groep NV boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 240.7% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,023,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $304,717,000 after purchasing an additional 723,019 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 318.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 948,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $282,473,000 after purchasing an additional 722,132 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,685.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 764,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $249,698,000 after purchasing an additional 721,671 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,957.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 718,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,138,000,000 after buying an additional 715,686 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on APD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $350.00 in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $295.00 to $364.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.71.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $312.01 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $337.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $309.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $293.48. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. 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.