Core Alternative Capital Increases Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Core Alternative Capital lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,672 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Air Products and Chemicals makes up approximately 1.5% of Core Alternative Capital’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Core Alternative Capital’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $7,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of APD. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $555,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 7.6% in the third quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 1,592 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 14.3% in the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 11.4% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 674 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.0 %

APD opened at $310.38 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $69.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $216.30 and a 52 week high of $341.14. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $309.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $301.89.

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 net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. As a group, research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. 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 note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.