Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Position Reduced by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 49,679 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,194 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $14,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of APD. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,231,560,000 after buying an additional 207,404 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 3rd 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $885,371,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $605,734,000 after purchasing an additional 30,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 70,759 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.6 %

APD stock opened at $295.04 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $65.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. 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 quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $312.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $308.91.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share 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 issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.58%.

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.