Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Bought by Everhart Financial Group Inc.

Everhart Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 71,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,200,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Stratos Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 950 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 57.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,511 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,276 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,204. The trade was a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,749 shares of company stock valued at $3,030,032. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $316.74 on Monday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $220.26 and a 52-week high of $341.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $308.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $303.37. 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 (NYSE:APD) last released 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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 41.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on APD. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.