Assetmark Inc. Acquires 25,346 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 47.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 78,520 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 25,346 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $22,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports 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. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America lowered 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered 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 issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $462,240.54. This represents a 50.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total value of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,282,177.60. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897 in the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $311.70 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $310.83 and a 200 day moving average of $306.65. The company has a market cap of $69.34 billion, a PE ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.53 and a 12-month high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. 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.