Blair William & Co. IL Acquires 1,208 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 103,125 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $29,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth $25,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 approximately $3,282,177.60. This trade represents a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets cut Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:APD opened at $295.40 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $312.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $308.82. The stock has a market cap of $65.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.53 and a 12 month high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued 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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. Equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 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.