CWS Financial Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

CWS Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 797 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at approximately $281,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.5% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,731 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the first quarter valued at approximately $15,910,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 872.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 119,907 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,050,000 after purchasing an additional 107,579 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Vertical Research raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD opened at $333.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $314.23 and a 200-day moving average of $285.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market cap of $74.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $212.24 and a 52-week high of $336.42.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.21%.

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.