Morton Community Bank Acquires 178 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Morton Community Bank lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,883 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,448,570,000 after acquiring an additional 88,806 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $885,371,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in 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 valued at $605,734,000 after buying an additional 30,888 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in 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 valued at $555,967,000 after buying an additional 70,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $486,343,000 after buying an additional 19,209 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on APD. BMO Capital Markets lowered Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report 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 report on Friday, January 31st. 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 report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $343.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total value of $181,706.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,811.50. This represents a 45.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 in the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $316.76 on Monday. 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. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $311.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $307.43. The company has a market cap of $70.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

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.