Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 465 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $4,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884,581 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 240.7% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,023,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $304,717,000 after buying an additional 723,019 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 318.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 948,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $282,473,000 after buying an additional 722,132 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,685.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 764,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $249,698,000 after acquiring an additional 721,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,957.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 718,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,138,000,000 after acquiring an additional 715,686 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Redburn Atlantic raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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 note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 5.3 %

APD stock opened at $310.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $69.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $213.80 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $309.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $301.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.11%.

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.