Kentucky Retirement Systems Grows Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD – Get Rating) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 902 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $4,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 232.6% in the third quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 143 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Evoke Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 21.9% in the third quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Tobam purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 75.9% in the third quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 234 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on APD shares. StockNews.com cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 8th. Vertical Research raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $292.00 to $340.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 7th. Mizuho cut their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $312.75.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $285.90 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $295.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $281.32. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $216.43 and a 52 week high of $328.56. The stock has a market cap of $63.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.84.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The basic materials company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by ($0.09). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.45% and a net margin of 17.61%. The company had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.27 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 11.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 8th. Investors of record on Monday, April 3rd will be issued a $1.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.62. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 31st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 63.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Sean D. Major sold 485 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.00, for a total value of $151,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,468,075. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Profile

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Air Products & Chemicals, Inc engages in the manufacture and distribution of atmospheric gases. It operates through the following segments: Industrial Gases-Americas, Industrial Gases-EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), Industrial Gases-Asia, Industrial Gases-Global, and Corporate & Other. The Industrial Gases-America, EMEA, and Asia segment markets and produces atmospheric gases, such as oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases, process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, syngas, and specialty gases and equipment for the production and processing of gases, such as air separation units and non-cryogenic generators.