Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $814.91 Million Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD - Free Report) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,736,975 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 55,495 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.23% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $814,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of APD. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,062,859 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $790,371,000 after acquiring an additional 122,676 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $861,722,000 after buying an additional 2,884,581 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $608,312,000 after buying an additional 33,313 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,034,818 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $525,085,000 after acquiring an additional 5,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 25.2% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,936,582 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $499,735,000 after acquiring an additional 389,380 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on APD. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $305.00 to $365.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $375.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $364.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Eight equities 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $331.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD stock traded up $2.95 on Friday, hitting $331.83. 2,189,995 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,617,082. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $212.24 and a 1-year high of $332.69. The stock has a market cap of $73.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $310.63 and a 200-day moving average of $282.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Air Products and Chemicals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.