Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Purchased by Hilltop Holdings Inc.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of APD. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $861,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,884,581 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,352,000 after buying an additional 1,737,260 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $720,597,000 after buying an additional 1,564,169 shares during the period. ING Groep NV raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 723,019 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 318.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 948,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $282,473,000 after buying an additional 722,132 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on APD. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $331.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $330.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $316.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $73.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 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 $337.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 41.21%.

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.