Vicus Capital Makes New $321,000 Investment in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Vicus Capital acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $321,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Romano Brothers AND Company raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 133.0% during the first quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 14,609 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,539,000 after acquiring an additional 8,340 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 256.1% during the first quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,405 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,851,000 after acquiring an additional 23,306 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 38.2% during the first quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC now owns 239 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 211.6% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 8,138 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,972,000 after acquiring an additional 5,526 shares during the period. Finally, S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 103.9% during the first quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 4,323 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after buying an additional 2,203 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on APD. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $245.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $275.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $287.29.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of APD opened at $258.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.84. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $212.24 and a 1 year high of $307.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.49. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $259.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $251.83.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.70 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.74 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.90%.

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.