Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Has $453,000 Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,561 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $453,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in APD. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of APD opened at $316.74 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $308.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $303.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.11. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $220.26 and a 52-week high of $341.14. The company has a market cap of $70.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85.

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 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%. Analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 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 boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,282,177.60. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,749 shares of company stock valued at $3,030,032. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on APD. Bank of America lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

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.