Eastern Bank Sells 802 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Eastern Bank decreased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,805 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 802 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $21,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.6% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 7,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,940,000 after purchasing an additional 4,221 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 41,220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,637,000 after acquiring an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.0% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 51,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 13.9% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,958 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,279,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on APD. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Redburn Atlantic raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Vertical Research raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $8.79 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $301.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,691,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,438,279. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $337.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $67.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $309.41 and a 200 day moving average of $292.76.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.21%.

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.