Rakuten Securities Inc. Purchases New Shares in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth about $376,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth about $1,177,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth about $501,000. Zenyatta Capital Management LP increased 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 increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 37.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 106,054 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on APD shares. UBS Group lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $328.00 to $241.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays decreased 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 research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.36.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:APD opened at $233.03 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $307.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $235.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $257.80. The company has a market cap 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.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 disclosed 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. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th. 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 presently 67.56%.

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.