Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Has $15.19 Million Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,864 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,127 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $15,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 151.3% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 24,881 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,028,000 after acquiring an additional 14,981 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 67,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,355,000 after purchasing an additional 2,321 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 5,502 shares in the last quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,625,000. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 9,663 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on APD. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.40.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $284.13 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $271.06 and a 200-day moving average of $257.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $63.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.64, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.82. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 63.90%.

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.