Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. Lineweaver Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,448,570,000 after purchasing an additional 88,806 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake 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 worth $555,967,000 after buying an additional 70,759 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $486,343,000 after buying an additional 19,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,249,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $371,920,000 after buying an additional 14,077 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, 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 sold 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897 over the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.1 %

APD opened at $313.79 on Thursday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.53 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $309.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $305.39. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $69.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. On average, 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

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.