Schear Investment Advisers LLC Has $1.07 Million Stock Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Schear Investment Advisers LLC cut its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 48 shares during the period. Schear Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the third quarter worth $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,173,204. The trade was a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,282,177.60. This represents a 23.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,749 shares of company stock valued at $3,030,032. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE APD opened at $309.50 on Wednesday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.30 and a 12 month high of $341.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $309.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $302.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted 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%. On average, analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 41.11%.

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.