Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Acquires 2,439 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,641 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,439 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $25,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of APD. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 29,954.1% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 2,894,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $861,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884,581 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 240.7% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,023,433 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $304,717,000 after purchasing an additional 723,019 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 318.7% in the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 948,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $282,473,000 after acquiring an additional 722,132 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1,685.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 764,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $249,698,000 after purchasing an additional 721,671 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 29,957.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 718,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,138,000,000 after purchasing an additional 715,686 shares during the last quarter. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on APD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $320.00 target price (down from $345.00) on shares of Air Products and Chemicals in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup raised their target price on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

NYSE:APD opened at $316.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 1 year low of $220.26 and a 1 year high of $341.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $308.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $302.74. The company has a market cap of $70.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $1.79 dividend. This is an increase 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 2.26%. Air Products and Chemicals’s payout ratio is presently 41.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Melissa N. Schaeffer sold 3,233 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.32, for a total transaction of $993,565.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,282,177.60. The trade was a 23.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total value of $1,419,570.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,502,560.58. This represents a 23.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,749 shares of company stock valued at $3,030,032 in the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Air Products and Chemicals

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.