Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Has $1.39 Million Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC trimmed its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,778 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 889 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $1,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,914,000 after acquiring an additional 6,952 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 59.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 139,223 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the 4th quarter valued at $7,269,000. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 13.4% in the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 45,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,607,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,074,000 after buying an additional 4,916 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.6 %

APD stock opened at $315.30 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $216.30 and a twelve month high of $341.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $70.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $308.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.65.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share 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, research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.11%.

Insider Activity

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total value of $993,565.56. Following the transaction, 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 90 days, insiders sold 9,749 shares of company stock worth $3,030,032. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.94.

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.