MV Capital Management Inc. Acquires 200 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

MV Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. MV Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,921,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,894,973,000 after acquiring an additional 4,330,471 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter worth $852,288,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,696.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 518,197 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,344,000 after buying an additional 489,350 shares during the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter worth about $87,173,000. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 96.4% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 684,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $187,589,000 after buying an additional 335,717 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.5 %

APD stock traded up $3.66 on Tuesday, reaching $251.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,785,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,785,484. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $259.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $251.54. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $307.71. The firm has a market cap of $55.80 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.49.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $0.15. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 20.32%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.3 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $294.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.29.

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.