Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 830 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,854 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 830 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price target (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of 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. 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. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.65.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,811.50. The trade was a 45.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total transaction of $410,644.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,008,604.84. This trade represents a 28.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 over the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:APD opened at $294.43 on Thursday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.53 and a 1-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 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $313.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $308.24.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.58%.

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.