Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Bought by Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 28.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,772 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,207,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,725,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 2,411 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $723,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 16,888 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,072,000 after acquiring an additional 3,757 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,981,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total transaction of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,240.54. This represents a 50.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,911 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,897 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD opened at $309.17 on Tuesday. 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 $68.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $308.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $305.06. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.53 and a 1 year 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 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. 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.