Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Has $4.91 Million Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $4,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $888,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 11,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,452,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Stockton boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the third quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 1,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $310.66 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.80 and a 52-week high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $309.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $301.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 41.11%.

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.