Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Purchased by Middleton & Co. Inc. MA

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA now owns 47,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,694,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 10,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,152,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,563 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the last quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 5,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Providence First Trust Co acquired a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total transaction of $474,255.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,240.54. This represents a 50.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 14,911 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,897 in the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $316.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average is $310.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $305.74. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.53 and a 1 year high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted 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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 41.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.