Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Acquired by GHP Investment Advisors Inc.

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 9.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,677 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,091 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $6,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in APD. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Security National Bank acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $284.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $63.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.82. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $307.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $271.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $257.66.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.49%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on APD. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.40.

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.