Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Grows Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 239,987 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,610 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $69,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,700.0% during the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on APD. Vertical Research raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $331.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $286.11. The company had a trading volume of 421,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,123,513. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $337.00. The stock has a market cap of $63.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $310.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $292.33.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.21%.

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.