BDF Gestion Sells 974 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

BDF Gestion trimmed its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 974 shares during the quarter. BDF Gestion’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of APD. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,884,581 shares during the period. ING Groep NV grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 240.7% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,023,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $304,717,000 after buying an additional 723,019 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 318.7% during the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 948,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $282,473,000 after buying an additional 722,132 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,685.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,957.6% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on APD. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $330.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $338.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $327.45 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $310.10 and a 200-day moving average of $298.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $337.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 41.68%.

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.