Sigma Planning Corp Decreases Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Sigma Planning Corp decreased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,007 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 303 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $2,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $3,207,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 12.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,725,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 24.9% during the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 2,411 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 28.6% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 16,888 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,072,000 after buying an additional 3,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 13.4% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 45,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,607,000 after buying an additional 5,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on APD shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $310.02 on Monday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.10 and a 1-year high of $341.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $308.50 and its 200 day moving average is $304.85. The company has a market cap of $68.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.85. 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 (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. This is an increase 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 41.11%.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total value 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 approximately $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,911 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,897 in the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.