Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $847,000 Investment in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,852 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $847,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.3% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 109,830 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $32,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,934 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Gould Capital LLC acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,253,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,448,570,000 after acquiring an additional 88,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Retirements Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at approximately $221,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on APD. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $305.00 to $365.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $308.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Redburn Atlantic raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $330.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Vertical Research raised Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $336.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $331.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $1.59 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $310.77. The company had a trading volume of 653,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,595,705. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $319.51 and a 200 day moving average of $289.26. 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 firm has a market cap of $69.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.81. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $337.00.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.21%.

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.