Arizona State Retirement System Increases Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 63,956 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 216 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $18,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Impax Asset Management Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,234,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 301.1% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth approximately $230,000. HF Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.9% in the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,776 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hixon Zuercher LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.5% in the third quarter. Hixon Zuercher LLC now owns 7,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,365,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Victoria Brifo sold 2,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.82, for a total transaction of $745,966.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,172,411.90. This represents a 19.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 2.1 %

APD stock opened at $311.70 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.53 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $310.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $306.65.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders 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 is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 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.