Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Raises Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 100.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.09% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $59,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.2% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,062,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $790,371,000 after acquiring an additional 122,676 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $720,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,169 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $608,312,000 after acquiring an additional 33,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,034,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $525,085,000 after acquiring an additional 5,140 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on APD. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $331.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $334.91 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $312.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $284.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.52. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $336.42. The company has a market capitalization of $74.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.21%.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.