Ninety One UK Ltd Has $137.32 Million Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Ninety One UK Ltd decreased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 501,547 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 150,542 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd owned 0.23% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $137,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter worth about $376,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,177,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at $501,000. Zenyatta Capital Management LP lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. Zenyatta Capital Management LP now owns 22,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,024,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Finally, Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 37.6% during the fourth quarter. Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 388,474 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,364,000 after buying an additional 106,054 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on APD shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $279.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. UBS Group downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.2 %

APD traded up $2.67 during trading on Thursday, reaching $231.68. The company had a trading volume of 625,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,737,131. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $235.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $257.98. The company has a market cap of $51.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.86, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released 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 net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 16.84%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.