Atria Investments Inc Sells 2,865 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Atria Investments Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,268 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,865 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $9,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,448,570,000 after purchasing an additional 88,806 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,088,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $605,734,000 after acquiring an additional 30,888 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,867,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $555,967,000 after acquiring an additional 70,759 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,633,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $486,343,000 after acquiring an additional 19,209 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 39,428 shares during the period. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $462,240.54. The trade was a 50.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. Insiders sold 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897 in the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $311.70 on Thursday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.53 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $310.83 and a 200-day moving average of $306.65.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

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.