West Michigan Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

West Michigan Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. West Michigan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of APD. ING Groep NV boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 240.7% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,023,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $304,717,000 after buying an additional 723,019 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 318.7% in the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 948,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $282,473,000 after purchasing an additional 722,132 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,685.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 764,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $249,698,000 after purchasing an additional 721,671 shares during the last quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth $163,013,000. Finally, TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth $159,886,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total value of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. The trade was a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897 in the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $316.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $310.00 and its 200 day moving average is $305.74. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.53 and a 52-week high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its 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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. Research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on APD shares. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America lowered 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 note on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.