EntryPoint Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 793 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Haverford Trust Co raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 416,726 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $120,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 43.8% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 198,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $57,495,000 after acquiring an additional 60,333 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,458,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Twin City Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Twin City Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,936 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $6,231,560,000 after purchasing an additional 207,404 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.9 %

Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $292.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $311.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $308.95. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.53 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The stock has a market cap of $65.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 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%. On average, equities analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. 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. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at $3,282,177.60. This trade represents a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 719 shares in the company, valued at $221,811.50. This represents a 45.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 in the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on APD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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. 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 objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.47.

Air Products and Chemicals 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.