Brokerages Set Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Price Target at $331.53

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $331.53.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup boosted their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

APD stock opened at $292.88 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $309.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.76. Air Products and Chemicals has a fifty-two week low of $212.24 and a fifty-two week high of $337.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.84.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of APD. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.6% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 7,529 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,940,000 after acquiring an additional 4,221 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 41,220 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,637,000 after buying an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 51,384 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $13,515,000 after buying an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,958 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,279,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.