Kanawha Capital Management LLC Buys 499 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Kanawha Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 47,106 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $13,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 106.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,914,000 after purchasing an additional 6,952 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 59.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 374,442 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $111,488,000 after buying an additional 139,223 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth about $7,269,000. Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 13.4% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 45,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,607,000 after buying an additional 5,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,074,000 after buying an additional 4,916 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total value of $1,419,570.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,173,204. This trade represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,749 shares of company stock worth $3,030,032. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on APD shares. BMO Capital Markets cut Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut 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, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:APD opened at $315.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $308.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $302.65. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $216.30 and a 52-week high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted 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 research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. 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 currently 41.11%.

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.