Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Acquired by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 53,274 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,164 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $15,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $861,722,000 after buying an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 240.7% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,023,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $304,717,000 after acquiring an additional 723,019 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 318.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 948,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $282,473,000 after acquiring an additional 722,132 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 721,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,957.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 718,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,138,000,000 after purchasing an additional 715,686 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on APD shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $330.00 to $350.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.71.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.6 %

APD opened at $317.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.84. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $337.00. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $309.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $294.69.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.