Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 3,274 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,957 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,274 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $10,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 207,404 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,448,570,000 after purchasing an additional 88,806 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at $885,371,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $605,734,000 after buying an additional 30,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in 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 worth $555,967,000 after buying an additional 70,759 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. 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 research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.65.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 719 shares in the company, valued at $221,811.50. The trade was a 45.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $294.06 on Tuesday. 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $313.04 and a 200 day moving average of $308.84. The firm has a market cap of $65.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85.

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 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is an increase 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 2.43%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 41.58%.

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.