Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. $APD Stock Bought by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

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

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. United Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,857 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. LightSquare Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.2% during the third quarter. LightSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.7% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 13,703 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,813,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,078,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Calamos Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.1% in the third quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 57,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on APD shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Argus lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $316.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $335.59.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of APD opened at $315.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $70.15 billion, a PE ratio of 132.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s fifty day moving average is $295.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $291.67. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $229.11 and a fifty-two week high of $324.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $7.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 4th. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 304.20%.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.