Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Stock: Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Boosts Position

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 9.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,518 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,817 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $22,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of APD. S&CO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,733,000. Park National Corp OH boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 24,538 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,761,000 after acquiring an additional 9,817 shares in the last quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,457.1% in the 3rd quarter. Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. now owns 28,806 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,851,000 after acquiring an additional 26,956 shares during the period. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,352.9% in the 3rd quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,309 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,627,000 after acquiring an additional 12,393 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 57,052 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,573,000 after acquiring an additional 12,020 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.9%

APD stock opened at $315.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $295.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.67. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $229.11 and a 12 month high of $324.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.15 billion, a PE ratio of 132.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.67.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $3.61. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 17.19% and a net margin of 4.10%. The firm had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 14.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 4th will be given a dividend of $1.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 4th. This represents a $7.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 304.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $320.00 target price on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Monday, August 3rd. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $336.00 to $305.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $335.59.

Air Products and Chemicals Company Profile

Air Products and Chemicals is an industrial gases company that supplies gases, related equipment and services to businesses and institutions. Its products include atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases. The company serves a range of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, food and healthcare. Its offerings support industrial processes and applications such as gas production and distribution, materials processing and process technology.