Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. Takes $816,000 Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $816,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 88.7% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total value of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,749 shares of company stock valued at $3,030,032. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $315.30 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $308.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $302.65. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $216.30 and a one year high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on APD shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

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.