LGT Group Foundation Has $1.54 Million Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

LGT Group Foundation grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,295 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $116,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,067 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total transaction of $474,255.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,240.54. This represents a 50.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the vice president now 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets cut Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $343.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $310.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $69.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $310.34 and its 200-day moving average is $306.41. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $227.53 and a one year high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. Equities analysts predict 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 dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.