Brighton Jones LLC Purchases 412 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 412 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the third 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 grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 240.7% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,023,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $304,717,000 after purchasing an additional 723,019 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 721,671 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,957.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 718,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,138,000,000 after buying an additional 715,686 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $305.00 to $365.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $335.65.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $329.29 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 50 day moving average of $310.14 and a 200-day moving average of $296.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 41.68%.

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.