Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys Shares of 245,851 Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 245,851 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,307,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new position in Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of APD stock opened at $312.83 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $309.57 and a 200 day moving average of $305.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $69.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.53 and a twelve month high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 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 is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is 41.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,502,560.58. The trade was a 23.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kurt Lefevere sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.17, for a total value of $474,255.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,240.54. This trade represents a 50.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897 over the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.