Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter valued at $250,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 67,507 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,355,000 after acquiring an additional 2,321 shares in the last quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.6% during the first quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 17,275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,185,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter worth about $6,250,000. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.5% in the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD stock traded up $4.76 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $265.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,537,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,759,542. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $307.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $265.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $249.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.15. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. Air Products and Chemicals’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.26 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 63.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on APD. StockNews.com downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $257.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.29.

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.