Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lowered its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 41.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 38,371 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $16,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of APD. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.6% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 13.1% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,898 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $861,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 60.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 60,309 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,850,000 after purchasing an additional 22,790 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 138.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 23,861 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,105,000 after buying an additional 13,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 53.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 59,349 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,717,000 after buying an additional 20,687 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 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 stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. This trade represents a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 over the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 7.0 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $263.35 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $308.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $309.24. The stock has a market cap of $58.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.88. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.53 and a 12 month high of $341.14. 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 (NYSE:APD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 EPS 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%. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on APD shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $365.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. One equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $340.88.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.