Morningstar Investment Management LLC Sells 83 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,195 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 83 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,772 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,207,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 5,352 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,593,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,219 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 7.2% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,947 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $316.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $308.49 and its 200-day moving average is $304.19. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $225.26 and a twelve month high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. This trade represents a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total value of $1,419,570.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,411 shares of company stock worth $4,186,642 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.