Nemes Rush Group LLC Decreases Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Nemes Rush Group LLC decreased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 86.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,399 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 39,514 shares during the period. Nemes Rush Group LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of APD. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 13,065 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,789,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 25,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,476,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 3,141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 243,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $70,626,000 after buying an additional 2,239 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on APD shares. Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $341.47.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $294.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.58 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $311.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $309.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. 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 posted 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 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 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,240.54. This trade represents a 50.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. The trade was 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 have sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.