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

Certuity LLC lowered its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 611 shares during the period. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,038,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 88,806 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $861,722,000 after buying an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,043,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $608,312,000 after buying an additional 33,313 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 3.9% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 70,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the third 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price target (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD stock opened at $309.50 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $216.30 and a one year high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $309.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.11%.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In other news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,173,204. This represents a 34.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,502,560.58. This trade represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,749 shares of company stock valued at $3,030,032 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

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.