Kovack Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Kovack Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,354 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $393,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,725,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,294 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 467.4% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 732 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter worth $229,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of APD 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 $305.74. The company has a market cap 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 has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 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.

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 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 expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on APD shares. Citigroup lifted 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 report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on 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. Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,604.84. This trade represents a 28.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total value of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,911 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,897. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.