Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Stake Boosted by Banco de Sabadell S.A

Banco de Sabadell S.A increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,496 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,099 shares during the period. Banco de Sabadell S.A’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $885,371,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter worth $163,013,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter valued at $159,886,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $71,307,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 25.2% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,165,733 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $350,139,000 after purchasing an additional 234,322 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on APD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $320.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $342.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,008,604.84. This represents a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $291.35 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $313.19 and its 200-day moving average is $308.45. The company has a market cap of $64.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.53 and a 52-week high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current 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 a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.58%.

Air Products and Chemicals Company 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.