Access Financial Services Inc. Grows Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Access Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,271 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Access Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. CX Institutional grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 11,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,452,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Stockton boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 1,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chesapeake Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 2,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. 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. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $332.71.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $317.11 on Monday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $309.42 and a 200 day moving average of $294.40. The firm has a market cap of $70.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.84. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $337.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

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