Community Bank N.A. Boosts Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Community Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,322 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 162 shares during the quarter. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 88,806 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $885,371,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $605,734,000 after buying an additional 30,888 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $555,967,000 after buying an additional 70,759 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $486,343,000 after buying an additional 19,209 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $291.35 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.53 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $64.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $313.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $308.45.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,240.54. The trade was a 50.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 in the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on APD. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $342.65.

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.