Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Acquired by Modern Wealth Management LLC

Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 207,404 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 valued at $1,448,570,000 after acquiring an additional 88,806 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $885,371,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 30,888 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake 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 valued at $555,967,000 after purchasing an additional 70,759 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on APD shares. StockNews.com downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.0 %

APD opened at $295.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $65.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $312.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $308.82. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.53 and a 52 week 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.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. 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 currently 41.58%.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,204. This trade represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,502,560.58. This trade represents 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 worth $4,842,604 over the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.