Van ECK Associates Corp Decreases Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 733,912 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 30,577 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $212,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 88,806 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,884,581 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $608,312,000 after acquiring an additional 33,313 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 70,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $486,343,000 after purchasing an additional 19,209 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at $3,282,177.60. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $616,896.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. This trade represents a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,749 shares of company stock worth $3,030,032 in the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE APD opened at $310.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $69.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $308.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $302.60. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $216.30 and a one year high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors 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 2.31%. This is a boost 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 presently 41.11%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.