Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Sold by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc decreased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,999 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 454 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APD. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,874,347 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,448,570,000 after acquiring an additional 88,806 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $885,371,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted 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 worth $605,734,000 after purchasing an additional 30,888 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position 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. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake 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 valued at $486,343,000 after purchasing an additional 19,209 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.65.

Air Products and Chemicals Price Performance

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $291.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $64.92 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.53 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $312.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $307.90.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its 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%. Sell-side analysts predict 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.45%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is currently 41.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Walter L. Nelson sold 589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.50, for a total transaction of $181,706.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $221,811.50. The trade was a 45.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $410,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,008,604.84. This trade represents a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.