Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Sells 55 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC decreased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 24,522 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $7,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 59.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 374,442 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,488,000 after acquiring an additional 139,223 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden boosted 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 purchasing an additional 5,400 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $7,269,000. Jensen Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 65.0% in the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,921,000 after buying an additional 5,190 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,205.1% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,440,000 after buying an additional 35,479 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Vertical Research raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $336.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $295.00 to $364.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $332.71.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $317.11 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $309.49 and its 200-day moving average is $295.14. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $212.24 and a twelve month high of $337.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.46, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.84.

Air Products and Chemicals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.21%.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.