Bank of America Downgrades Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) to Neutral

Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Bank of America currently has $350.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $295.00 to $364.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. 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 report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $338.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of APD opened at $327.45 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.84. Air Products and Chemicals has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $337.00. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $310.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,448,570,000 after purchasing an additional 88,806 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after buying an additional 2,884,581 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $608,312,000 after buying an additional 33,313 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 25.2% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,936,582 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $499,735,000 after buying an additional 389,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $555,967,000 after acquiring an additional 70,759 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.