Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 14,404 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,140,794 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 14,404 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals makes up approximately 1.7% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $330,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of APD. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 88,806 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $605,734,000 after purchasing an additional 30,888 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $555,967,000 after purchasing an additional 70,759 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $486,343,000 after purchasing an additional 19,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,288,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $373,737,000 after purchasing an additional 39,428 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,911 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,897 over the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on APD shares. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. 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 for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $343.53.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

APD stock opened at $310.31 on Tuesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.53 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $69.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $310.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $306.41.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced 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 net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. Research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.58%.

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.