Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,528,890 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 126,202 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,023,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in 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. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,240.54. This represents a 50.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares in the company, 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 ninety days, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APD has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. 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. 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given 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, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $292.34 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $311.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $309.41. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.53 and a 52-week high of $341.14. The company has a market cap of $65.04 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly 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, 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. 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.