Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys 320,651 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 69.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 784,760 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 320,651 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $203,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 62.3% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 4,309,040 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $720,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,169 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,034,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $525,085,000 after purchasing an additional 5,140 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 2,931.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,737,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 520,179 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $291.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $64.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28, a PEG ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $272.46 and a 200 day moving average of $258.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $301.90.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $300.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.40.

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.