Parallel Advisors LLC Has $1.37 Million Stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,717 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 88,806 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth $885,371,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in 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 boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% during the third 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 period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the third 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 period. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total value of $993,565.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $291.56 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $64.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $227.53 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $312.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $308.34.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results 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%. As a group, analysts forecast 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 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 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 price objective (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research 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 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $342.65.

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.