Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) VP Sean D. Major Sells 4,500 Shares

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock traded down $3.41 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $307.03. The company had a trading volume of 1,676,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,879,848. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $216.30 and a 52 week high of $341.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $309.83 and a 200-day moving average of $301.89. The firm has a market cap of $68.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82, a PEG ratio of 3.47 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Air Products and Chemicals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at $885,371,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $861,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 240.7% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,023,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $304,717,000 after purchasing an additional 723,019 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 318.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 948,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $282,473,000 after purchasing an additional 722,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,685.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 764,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $249,698,000 after purchasing an additional 721,671 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of 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. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.94.

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.