Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Buys 100 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $4,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 55,111 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,071,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,405 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 24,849 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,803,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,166,522 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $319,394,000 after purchasing an additional 22,846 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $274.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $212.24 and a 52 week high of $307.71. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $267.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $255.57. The company has a market capitalization of $61.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.81.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 16.53%. On average, analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on APD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $310.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $291.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $240.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $276.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $297.40.

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.