Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. cut its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 122,253 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,332 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $35,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 88.7% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on APD. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price 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. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,749 shares of company stock valued at $3,030,032 in the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $316.74 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $220.26 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $308.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $302.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.47 billion, a PE 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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. 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 payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.