Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to "Overweight" Rating

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $350.00 target price on the basic materials company's stock, up from their previous target price of $330.00.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Vertical Research raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $336.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Redburn Atlantic raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $330.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.71.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:APD traded up $6.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $307.83. 1,949,234 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,615,379. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.84. Air Products and Chemicals has a 12 month low of $212.24 and a 12 month high of $337.00. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $309.35 and a 200 day moving average of $293.39.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Air Products and Chemicals's payout ratio is presently 41.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of APD. Flywheel Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth $680,000. Rovin Capital UT ADV boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 850 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth about $913,000. Burney Co. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 355.7% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 8,813 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,556,000 after acquiring an additional 6,879 shares during the period. Finally, S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 6,942 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,013,000 after acquiring an additional 1,559 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company's stock.

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.