Hendley & Co. Inc. Boosts Holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Hendley & Co. Inc. increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,654 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals comprises about 2.9% of Hendley & Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Hendley & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $8,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of APD. Mengis Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,788 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $809,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 27,754 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,615 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conscious Wealth Investments LLC grew its stake in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 10,822 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,439,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total value of $410,644.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,604.84. This represents a 28.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on APD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised 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 research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (down previously from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Air Products and Chemicals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:APD opened at $309.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $68.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $308.55 and a 200-day moving average of $305.06. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $227.53 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend 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.