Bessemer Group Inc. Grows Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 21.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,545 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 525.9% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 169 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $335.00 to $324.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $330.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $355.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $332.41.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $282.68 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $274.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $291.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.91 billion, a PE ratio of 41.09, a P/E/G ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.86. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.69 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 15.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 104.07%.

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.