Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Mather Group LLC.

Mather Group LLC. lessened its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,876 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,785 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $13,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $861,722,000 after buying an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 240.7% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,023,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $304,717,000 after buying an additional 723,019 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 318.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 948,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $282,473,000 after acquiring an additional 722,132 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1,685.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 764,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $249,698,000 after acquiring an additional 721,671 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,957.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 718,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,138,000,000 after purchasing an additional 715,686 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $330.00 to $350.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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. Redburn Atlantic raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $340.50.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:APD opened at $338.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $310.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $299.41. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $212.24 and a one year high of $339.10. The company has a market capitalization of $75.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.52.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.21%.

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.