KCM Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 46,426 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $11,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 151.3% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 24,881 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,028,000 after purchasing an additional 14,981 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 67,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,355,000 after acquiring an additional 2,321 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 351,506 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $96,242,000 after acquiring an additional 5,502 shares during the last quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at $2,625,000. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 126,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,753,000 after purchasing an additional 9,663 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on APD. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE APD traded up $1.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $278.85. 913,854 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,660,860. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $267.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $253.82. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. On average, equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.29 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.90%.

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.