122 Shares in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Acquired by Rakuten Securities Inc.

Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Guidance Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 2,346 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. Slow Capital Inc. increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Slow Capital Inc. now owns 6,138 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,688,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,682,000 after purchasing an additional 5,235 shares in the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $790,000. Finally, Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Arbor Trust Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 892 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $233.03 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $235.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $257.80. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $307.71. The company has a market capitalization of $51.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 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 (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($0.18). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 18.82%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 67.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $245.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $304.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 price objective for the company. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.36.

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.