Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) Stock Position Lowered by Congress Wealth Management LLC DE

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lowered its position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,024 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 297 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in Air Products and Chemicals were worth $4,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of APD. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new stake in Air Products and Chemicals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Air Products and Chemicals in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Air Products and Chemicals during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Air Products and Chemicals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Air Products and Chemicals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $341.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Sean D. Major sold 4,500 shares of the company’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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Wilbur Mok sold 1,300 shares of Air Products and Chemicals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.88, for a total transaction of $410,644.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,193 shares in the company, valued at $1,008,604.84. This represents a 28.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,500 shares of company stock worth $4,842,604 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Up 0.0 %

APD stock opened at $293.57 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $312.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $309.01. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $227.53 and a 52-week high of $341.14. 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 (NYSE:APD) last announced its 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 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 business 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is an increase from Air Products and Chemicals’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. Air Products and Chemicals’s dividend payout ratio is 41.58%.

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.