Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APD) To Go Ex-Dividend on April 1st

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 22nd, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of 1.79 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, May 12th. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a 1.1% increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77.

Air Products and Chemicals has raised its dividend payment by an average of 5.7% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 50 years. Air Products and Chemicals has a payout ratio of 51.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Air Products and Chemicals to earn $13.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.7%.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $292.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $311.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $309.19. The stock has a market cap of $65.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals has a one year low of $227.53 and a one year high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.13 by ($0.27). Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. As a group, research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on APD shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total value of $1,419,570.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 81.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.