Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 163 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Essex Financial Services Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,082 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 163 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 22.3% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $105,000. CX Institutional raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 71,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,200,000 after acquiring an additional 2,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.8% during the third quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,186 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $309.50 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $216.30 and a fifty-two week high of $341.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $309.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $68.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share 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 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors 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 yield of 2.31%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,749 shares of company stock worth $3,030,032 in the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.94.

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.