Loudon Investment Management LLC Buys 485 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Loudon Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of APD. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 167.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,921,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,894,973,000 after acquiring an additional 4,330,471 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at $852,288,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in 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 worth $444,352,000 after buying an additional 1,737,260 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 50.6% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,547,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,841,000 after buying an additional 520,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scharf Investments LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 1st quarter valued at about $87,173,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $4.84 on Friday, reaching $268.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,066,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,647,773. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $59.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $268.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $255.98. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 21.24%. Analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.40.

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.