Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Shares Acquired by HM Payson & Co.

HM Payson & Co. increased its position in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 20,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $6,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in APD. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 312.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 3,828 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 958 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 6,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,780,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 1.9 %

APD stock opened at $316.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $311.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $306.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.53 and a 52-week high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Insider Transactions at Air Products and Chemicals

In related news, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. This trade represents a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total value of $410,644.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,008,604.84. This represents a 28.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,842,604. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Air Products and Chemicals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $375.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered 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. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.53.

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.