LGT Group Foundation Increases Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

LGT Group Foundation boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,933 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 62 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 3,740 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 10,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,814,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in the second quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 3,984 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $273.82 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $307.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $268.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $256.67.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. Research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

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.