Madison Investment Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 43,473 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,609,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,448,570,000 after purchasing an additional 88,806 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $885,371,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $605,734,000 after purchasing an additional 30,888 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $555,967,000 after purchasing an additional 70,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $486,343,000 after purchasing an additional 19,209 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.5 %

APD stock opened at $291.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.53 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $313.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $308.22.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 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, 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. 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 2.46%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $462,240.54. This represents a 50.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,811.50. The trade was a 45.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.65.

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.