Ridgewood Investments LLC Sells 654 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Ridgewood Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 654 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,448,570,000 after purchasing an additional 88,806 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.2% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,062,859 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $790,371,000 after purchasing an additional 122,676 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $861,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 127.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,792,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $720,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,312,000 after purchasing an additional 33,313 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Vertical Research raised shares of 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, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock traded up $5.32 on Friday, hitting $290.57. 616,619 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,138,533. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 3.13 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 $337.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.52.

Air Products and Chemicals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.21%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.