L & S Advisors Inc Reduces Stock Position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

L & S Advisors Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,265 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 273 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $6,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 106.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,914,000 after purchasing an additional 6,952 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 59.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 374,442 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,488,000 after buying an additional 139,223 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $7,269,000. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,074,000 after acquiring an additional 4,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,205.1% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 38,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,440,000 after acquiring an additional 35,479 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE APD opened at $292.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52 week low of $227.53 and a 52 week high of $341.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $311.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $309.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share (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%. Equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $1.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 41.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. 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. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $373.00 to $345.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Bank of America lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $341.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,680 shares in the company, valued at $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of Air Products and Chemicals 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 over the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.