Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Price Target Cut to $335.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) had its price objective reduced by UBS Group from $370.00 to $335.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $332.18.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 2.6 %

NYSE:APD opened at $265.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $295.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.20. The company has a market capitalization of $59.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.89. Air Products and Chemicals has a one year low of $227.53 and a one year high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. Sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 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 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Air Products and Chemicals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APD. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% during the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

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.