Altrius Capital Management Inc Sells 676 Shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

Altrius Capital Management Inc cut its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,383 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 676 shares during the period. Altrius Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $5,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,725,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.6% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the third quarter valued at approximately $227,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 6,910 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,057,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,294 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Air Products and Chemicals news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Francesco Maione sold 2,016 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $616,896.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,173,204. The trade was a 34.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,911 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,897 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on APD. Citigroup increased their price objective on Air Products and Chemicals from $345.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays raised Air Products and Chemicals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $315.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded 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, 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.94.

Air Products and Chemicals Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE APD opened at $312.83 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $309.57 and its 200-day moving average is $305.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a one year low of $227.53 and a one year high of $341.14.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) last posted 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 return on equity of 15.78% and a net margin of 31.88%. Equities research analysts predict that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a boost from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. 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.