Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Price Target Increased to $330.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $280.00 to $330.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

APD has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Air Products and Chemicals from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the company from $295.00 to $364.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Vertical Research upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $336.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $316.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $316.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $70.43 billion, a PE ratio of 27.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.82. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $323.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $284.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $265.55.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 61.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APD. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,230,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,720,704,000 after acquiring an additional 4,309,040 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,796,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $444,352,000 after buying an additional 1,737,260 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $720,597,000 after buying an additional 1,564,169 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,841,000 after buying an additional 520,179 shares during the period. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at approximately $87,173,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.