Norges Bank Invests $919.72 Million in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,171,016 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $919,721,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at about $885,371,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $163,013,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $159,886,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $71,307,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on APD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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. Bank of America lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, January 24th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $341.47.

Insider Activity at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $181,706.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 a total of 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD stock opened at $295.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $312.18 and a 200 day moving average of $308.82. 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 company has a market cap of $65.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.53 and a 1 year high of $341.14.

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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is presently 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.