Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $229.42 Million Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 770,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,067 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.35% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $229,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 11,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,452,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Stockton increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the third quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 1,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chesapeake Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the third quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 2,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on APD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Redburn Atlantic raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $331.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.7 %

APD opened at $293.17 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $319.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $290.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. 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 2.41%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio 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.