218 Shares in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Bought by Providence First Trust Co

Providence First Trust Co bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $316.55 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $310.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $305.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.53 and a 1-year high of $341.14. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is presently 41.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on APD. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of 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. Bank of America lowered 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total transaction of $410,644.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares in the company, valued at $1,008,604.84. This trade represents a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.