Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) is 44 Wealth Management LLC’s 9th Largest Position

44 Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 463 shares during the quarter. Air Products and Chemicals comprises approximately 1.3% of 44 Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. 44 Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $3,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,074 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $888,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 1.9% in the third quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 1,813 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 140 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.7% in the third quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 2,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keyes Stange & Wooten Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 1.5% in the third quarter. Keyes Stange & Wooten Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on APD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of 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. Citigroup upped 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 report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $375.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $315.00 to $365.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total value of $410,644.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,193 shares in the company, valued at $1,008,604.84. This represents a 28.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.46, for a total transaction of $1,419,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,911 shares of company stock worth $4,660,897 over the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock opened at $310.02 on Friday. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $227.10 and a 12-month high of $341.14. 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 $68.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $308.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $304.48.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 15.78%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 positive change from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.11%.

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.