Avalon Trust Co Increases Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Avalon Trust Co lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 640 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the quarter. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. one8zero8 LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $551,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 167,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,682,000 after purchasing an additional 11,012 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,519 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. First National Trust Co lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 7,042 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,042,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 6,635 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total transaction of $410,644.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,604.84. This trade represents a 28.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $462,240.54. This trade represents a 50.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 over the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $342.65.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.4 %

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $291.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $64.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.95, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $227.53 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $312.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $307.90.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its 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 research analysts forecast 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.