Tyche Wealth Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,886 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $790,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dover Advisors LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the third quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 1,894 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.4% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 5,261 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,622,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 180 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.8% during the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on APD. UBS Group downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $328.00 to $241.00 in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Argus downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $304.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $3.40 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $227.76. 2,590,139 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,263,944. The company has a market cap of $50.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $307.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $235.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $258.18.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 18.82%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.64 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 67.56%.

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.