Markel Group Inc. Buys 12,500 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Markel Group Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 24.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $18,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 40.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on APD. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE APD opened at $303.83 on Tuesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.53 and a 52-week high of $341.14. 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 company has a market capitalization of $67.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $311.93 and a 200-day moving average of $307.64.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 41.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total value of $410,644.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,008,604.84. The trade was a 28.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604 over the last three months. 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.